Adam Drake - Blackout

I sighed. Nothing else showed what the quest was or what the reward for completing it would be. Typical. As an adventurer you were more or less expected to show up at a quest location and figure things out from there.

“Not sure if this is worth our while,” I said to Phlixx who had already lost interest and cartwheeled around. “I’ll save it for another time or trade it.”

I was about to slip the scroll into my inventory when a chat request popped up in my vision. At first I thought it was Mudhoof bugging me again, but dollar signs appended the request label.

Spammer? Couldn’t be. My filters were good at keeping unwanted solicitations from gold farmers and other pests from trying to sell me their crap. If it was a spammer, I’d report them to the game’s administrators. Let management deal with him.

I initiated the chat and a large view window appeared in front of me. Within the window was the face of a large gray owl. Beneath him was the name Ogden Trite. “Greetings!” said the owl, ruffling his feathers as he spoke. “Thank you for accepting my chat request. I am most eager to speak with you. You are Vivian Valesh, the Shadow quester, yes?”

Waving a hand I said, “Yeah. But I’m not interested in what you’re selling, pal. In fact, how the heck did you manage to get may chat identification if you’re not on my friends list?” My list of in-game friends was short but distinguished. Or so I kept telling myself. In reality I didn’t have many friends, in-game or otherwise. I am a solo player at heart.

The owl’s eyes widened to comical proportions. “Oh, I am not selling anything at all. In fact, it is you I wish to buy from, if you are interested.”

That’s a switch, I thought. “What could I possibly have that you want?” Currently, I had little up on the auction house for sale. What items I got from questing sold within minutes of my listing them.

Ogden chuckled, and his owl avatar’s feathers bristled with the motion. “I’m interested in the quest scroll you recently obtained moments ago. Would you be keen on selling it?”

Shocked, I said, “How did you know I had this?” I looked around the base camp again, but other than the old crone, no one else was nearby. “I haven’t even listed it anywhere.”

Ogden said, “I pay an exorbitant monthly fee to a Locators Guild each month for them to tell when a new quest becomes available. And they just now informed me of your quest scroll.”

“There are quest scrolls appearing all the time,” I said. “The Locators Guild must charge you a bundle.” There were billions of quests throughout the game’s universe. The vast majority of them carefully logged on various internet sites and wikis. And thousands more were added daily. With billions of players the game needed to generate new content all the time.

“Well, that’s true,” said Ogden. “But I don’t pay for a daily list of everything. My interests are far more specific. I am only interested in one kind of quest.” He paused.

Making an effort to not roll my eyes at him, and wanting to end this conversation, I took the bait. “And what kind is that?”

“Legendary Quests,” he said.

“Legendary Quests?” I said, surprised. “Do they even make those anymore?” Every quest had a rarity degree assigned to it depending on what the end quest item reward was. From common items that had no real value, to ultra-rare items that fetched huge sums on the auction house.

Then there were the fabled Legendary Quests. So rare that out of the billions of available quests, the Legendaries numbered only a few dozen. And completing these quests gave the player a unique one of a kind item unlike any other in the game. Most other quests could be repeated by players and finishing them gave you the same reward. Not Legendaries. They were a one time quest. Once completed for the first time, the reward item changed to something more mundane.

“Yes,” Ogden said. “But, as you are well aware, not often. Hence their namesake.” He grinned in anticipation at me.

I frowned. If Ogden was after Legendary quests, and he was now talking to me…

My eyes went to the scroll in my hand. I unfurled it and scanned it again. This time I saw it. There, at the bottom of the parchment were the words ‘Legendary Quest’.

“Oh, wow,” I said.

Ogden said, “Do you intend on selling the scroll? I’ll pay you a handsome sum.”

I blinked several times, gathering my thoughts. “I dunno. This just kinda of hit me. I didn’t know what I had until now.” A Legendary Quest. Here in my hands. No one would believe me!

“Well,” Ogden said, “I will buy it from you at top dollar. Did you have an amount in mind?”

Amount? How much could this be worth? Quest scrolls were not sold on the auction house as a game rule. They had to be sold off-market.

“I dunno, I’ve never been on a Legendary Quest before,” I said. How exciting would that be? A Legendary Quest! But all major quests above uber required groups of four just to activate them. I would need help to do it.

“If you intend to take the quest, then I will pay you three times the market listing cap for the reward item,” Ogden said. When first introduced into the game, Legendary items which appeared on the auction house sold for incredible amounts of money. So much that it negatively effected the game economy. Cap limits on Legendary items were created and you couldn’t bid a copper higher for them.

This led to off-market sales at even higher prices than the market listings cap.

“Three times the listing cap?” I asked, not sure I heard him right.

“Yes. Once the item is obtained, the game will generate the cap. I will triple it, paid in full upon transfer of the item to my account.” Ogden arched a brow which looked odd on an owl. “And I know what you’re thinking. Why not just hold onto the item for a higher bidder?”

“Yeah, that crossed my mind.”

“Well, to ensure I am the only person in the running I will pay you an upfront deposit immediately upon signing the contract. Five hundred thousand gold. And even if you don’t get the item you keep the deposit.”

I nearly fainted and had to adjust my game visor. Five hundred thousand gold pieces! I’d never imagined having that amount before. And I kept it all even if I failed.

How could I lose?

“Interested?” He asked, as he watched me consider my options.

I grinned at my new owl friend. “Mr. Trite, you got yourself a deal.”

Gate travel within the game was equal parts convenience and aggravation. On one hand, you could travel instantly anywhere in the game universe, across oceans to different continents, even to other planets, of which there were tens of thousands. On the other hand, it couldn’t be too easy. So most times when you traveled through one gate you had to hoof it the next one, as no single gate went everywhere, you needed to find the one going toward your destination.

I stepped through the gate at the base camp and into a whole other place. The dark ash clouds of the volcano environment changed to perfect white fluffy ones against a pale blue sky. Tall trees and lush greenery momentarily assailed my vision. I had spent too long in the grim volcano zone. This new setting fed my soul.

The small clearing where the travel gate sat was empty of people. In the distance, perched on a tall mesa, were an array of buildings. Zeppelin shaped sky-barges floated to and from there. Fenway Port and the next jump to the quest location.

A wide cobblestone path led in that direction. I started walking with Phlixx at my side, this time without worry. This was a safe zone.

I reviewed my employment details with Ogden Trite. He had sent me via in-game mail a contract of agreement which I had signed and returned. It was boilerplate legal speak. If I got the Legendary item, I would transfer ownership to him directly. A few moments after I signed the agreement and returned it Ogden sent the deposit.