Adam Drake - Blackout

As we walked to it Mudhoof stopped in front of the clockworks shop next door. Its wide bay windows were filled with little clockwork robots which teetered around and belched steam. A shopkeeper emerged and placed a small robot on the ground. The machine wobbled about, inner gears grinding loudly.

I was unimpressed. Clockworks was a new feature recently implemented into the game. Players can purchase, and even learn to make, clockwork beings for a myriad of tasks. Many players loved it. Personally, I didn’t care for them. Too steampunk for me, but to each their own.

“Cute, huh?” Mudhoof said as the robot bumped into a flower pot, shot out steam from a suspiciously placed orifice, then teetered off in a new direction. When Mudhoof noticed my expression he added, “Uh, maybe I should just smash it.”

I motioned to the Locators Guild. “Let’s get inside before the shopkeeper brings out bigger versions of that thing.”

Entering a Locators Guild always gave me a little rush. It was crammed with maps. Large tapestry maps hung from the walls, rolled parchment maps were stacked on top of each other within narrow shelves. The smell of inked parchment and stitched wool assailed my nostrils and I turned up my simulation suit’s olfactory settings to take it in like an addict.

Various globes spun on stands, each representing some of the more popular worlds that filled the game.

The service counter was at the back wall, and as we walked toward it I took my time to peruse all the worlds and places I would love to visit. There was so much to see and do within the game; billions of locations and near limitless quests to go on. I had no hope of seeing and doing it all within my lifetime. But I would have fun trying.

I paused at a strange-looking globe, its surface blighted and blackened.

“Looks like it was nuked,” said Mudhoof, looking over my shoulder. “No more loot to be found there.” It appeared that way. Where there once were continents and cities, now smudged outlines remained. Vast oceans had become deep, wide canyons and shattered rock.

I selected the world’s name. Herronia.

“I wonder what happened to it,” I said.

“Destroyed. By the Demon King,” said a man who appeared from behind a towering bookcase.

I tensed for a fight, but immediately relaxed. Like the Temple, the Guild was a safezone.

The man approached carrying a bundle of map rolls under one arm. His name appeared above his head. Yibbet (Locators Guild Cartographer).

The mention of the Demon King, a recent enemy who nearly wiped out my whole party on a previous quest, caught my interest. “Destroyed it how?” I asked.

Yibbet shrugged a skinny frame from within billowy yellow robes. “No one has any facts as to how, exactly. Some have reported a thick white fog encompassed Herronia’s entire surface which preventing anyone from seeing. Then when it dissipated the planet looked like that. But other reports claim asteroids were nudged from their nearby orbits and pummeled the surface.”

Examining the globe closer, I said, “Doesn’t look like there are any impact craters.”

Another shrug. Yibbet said, “Although we at the Locators guild pride ourselves on accuracy, we don’t always go the extra mile to map out utter destruction.” His neutral expression was replaced by a genial smile. “Are you here about a map of Herronia? I can provide one for a modest sum.”

Mudhoof barked a laugh. “Bet all your maps of the place are now heavily discounted.”

“No,” I said. “We’re interested in your locating service.”

Yibbet brightened. “Very good. Please follow me.” He dropped the maps he was carrying on a table and led us deeper inside.

Atop a podium was a large open book, thick with weathered pages. Yibbet stood over it and brought out a beautiful blue quill pen, which looked expensive. As he dipped its tip in a squat ink bottle, I couldn’t help myself and pulled up the statistics for the pen.

Item: Niqix Quill Feather (Rare), Weight 0.01 Units, Uses: Can be used in Alchemy, Cartography and Inscribing spells. Value: Unknown.

Do you wish to query for current auction house prices? Y/N

I selected Yes.

Querying. Item found. Current asking price range is 450 Gold Pieces to 620 Gold Pieces.

Impressive, I thought. Rare items that could be used across a broad range of skill sets were worth a lot.

“Person, place, or thing?” Yibbet asked. He stood with the Niqix Quill Feather poised above a blank sheet of the open book.

I dismissed the statistics screen from my view. Nosey gamer, me.

“Uh, place,” I said.

Yibbet carefully drew a symbol at the top of the page. Finished, he asked, “Name?”

“Uh,” I gave Mudhoof a glance who was trying to stifle a grin. “Wally’s Womp.”

“Can you spell it, please?”

I did with a little uncertainty.

The Cartographer blinked. “Interesting,” he said, then wrote the name under the symbol. I didn’t doubt he had heard untold names over his years of service, and each one would have been ‘interesting’.

Finished, Yibbet stood back and watched the page expectantly. “Hmm,” he said after a few moments.

“What is it?” I said.

“According to the Locator’s book there is no place named Wally’s Womp,” he said.

“Maybe you spelt it wrong,” Mudhoof said.

“I’ll try Wally with one ‘l’,” Yibbet said, but that did not produce a result either.

“Okay,” I said, getting worried. “Try ‘Thing’.” Maybe Kragg had lied after all.

Yibbet turned over to a fresh blank page, drawing a different symbol at the top. Beneath, he wrote ‘Wally’s Womp’.

This time something happened. The symbol and name on the page moved about on their own, swirling and stretching. Then, a single word appeared replacing them. ‘Masked’.

“Ah,” said Yibbet.

“Ah, what?” I said. That didn’t sound good.

“Someone has paid a lot of money to negate the search for a thing named Wally’s Womp,” Yibbet said. “I cannot attain its exact location, as a result.”

Mudhoof snorted. “Trite did it.”

I nodded. It made sense Ogden would use his vast resources to hide the access point to his guildhall. Many guilds did it as well. It wasn’t a perfect solution; someone determined enough could do some detective work to eventually find them. But my time was short.

To Yibbet, I asked, “Is there any way to get around the Masking of a search? Perhaps pay an extra fee?” The last was said hopefully. I didn’t have a lot of gold, but would spend it all for a shot at Trite.

The cartographer shook his head, “I am sorry, miss. Once a Masking is placed it will remain so for its duration.”

“Duration?”

“There is a thirty-day limit to a Masking, which can then be renewed.”

I frowned. Unless Ogden stopped paying his monthly bill, which was doubtful, I had no immediate way to get the location.

Mudhoof, showing his frustration, scoffed. He produced a large silver medallion from his inventory. The game brought up its identification. ‘Sliver Of Knowledge’. He handed it to Yibbet. “Here,” he said. “This should take care of it.”

My eyes widened. “I didn’t know you had one of those.” I was shocked. Sliver Of Knowledge medallions were the ultimate form of payment to any Locators Guild. All of their more privileged services would be available to someone with one. As a result, the medallions were incredibly rare, and very expensive.

“Are you sure you want to use that now?” I asked Mudhoof. “That’s worth a ton of money.”

Mudhoof waved a hand. “Yeah, why not. It’s what they’re for. And I’m not in need of locating anything else at the moment.” He grinned.