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Early to Raise (RPG Questline)
———-
QUEST: Early to Raise (Part 1)
TRIGGER: Sandra Early
PREREQUISITES: Appearance – Level 8, $5 Entrance Fee for the Casino
TASKS: Roam the Land as a Gambler, Go to the Dryspell Riverboat Casino
REWARDS: Travel Bag, - $5
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Sandra Early
“Excuse me sir, could I have a word? My husband’s a right honest man, and let me tall ya he cares for his congregation more than hisself, but I gotta be forthright. I’ma thinkin’ you might get him back on track. Ya see, John’s been tricked by the Devil, and now he heads down to the riverboat to gamble every Monday with the church’s offering plate. Please, could you make him see it ain’t right?”
HINT: Head to the Dryspell Riverboat Casino in the North, docked along the big river.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Doorman Marcus Fitzpatrick
“You don’t look like the gamblin’ type, but don’t mind me. It’ll cost you five dollars for a seat at the table. Leave your pride at the door, friend.”
———-
QUEST: Early to Raise (Part 2)
TRIGGER: Dryspell Riverboat Casino
PREREQUISITES: Early to Raise (Part 1) completed, $20, Setting Traps – Level 10
TASKS: Lose at Poker
REWARDS: -$20
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Dealer Jenni McCann
“Well it sure is nice to see a handsome face aroun’ here. Say why don’t I deal you in? Aces high, five card stud!”
HINT: Don’t show your hand. Set a trap for the big haul.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Dealer Jenni McCann
“Have you never played poker before? Ah, here comes ol’ John Early, just in time.”
———-
QUEST: Early to Raise (Part 3)
TRIGGER: Dryspell Riverboat Casino
PREREQUISITES: Early to Raise (Part 2) completed
TASKS: Rob a Bank
REWARDS: Wedding Ring, $486
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: John Early
“Oh, I’m outta chips already… I s'pose I raise my ring. Dear Lord, I can’t afford to lose this hand!”
HINT: You’re a card shark.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Dealer Jenni McCann
“I’m sorry Rev. Early. Your chips and your ring… go to our new friend here. You’re sure to have some better luck next week.”
———-
QUEST: Early to Raise (Part 4)
TRIGGER: Dryspell Riverboat Casino
PREREQUISITES: Early to Raise (Part 3) completed
TASKS: Building a Bridge
REWARDS: +10 XP
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: John Early
“Well, I guess I’ll be headed home then…”
HINT: Follow the dejected preacher outside.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Reverend John Early
[praying] “God in Heaven, forgive a reprobate sinner like me once more wontcha. I gone and lost the congregation’s offerin’, all the money they giv’d me to spread the good word. And now I lost my sweet Sandy’s ring to a heathen…”
[looks around] “Oh, the heathen’s comin’ to take my life an’ all!”
———-
QUEST: Early to Raise (Part 5)
TRIGGER: Dryspell Riverboat Casino
PREREQUISITES: Early to Raise (Part 4) completed
TASKS: Evangelizing, Go to The Early Homestead
REWARDS: - $486, - Wedding Ring, Leadership +2 Skill Points
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Reverend John Early
“Please just leave me be. My wife’s gonna be brokenhearted when she sees my ring’s a’missin’. It was her daddy’s, and I’ll do anything to get it back…”
HINT: Don’t be a heathen. Give him back the money and the ring, and help him get home.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Reverend John Early
“Thanks be to God, I learnt a lesson today. It seems even a heathen can have a little virtue after all. Well, if you wouldn'a mind takin’ a free meal, I'da be honored to have you in my home.”
———-
QUEST: Early to Raise (Part 6)
TRIGGER: The Early Homestead
PREREQUISITES: Early to Raise (Part 5) completed
TASKS: Charlatan
REWARDS: Warm Meal, Pony Express Saddlery
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Reverend John Early
“Sandy, we got company! Set another place at the table. The kindest stranger I ever met is comin’ to dinner. Goes by the name of {PLAYER_NAME}.”
HINT: Keep your poker face.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Sandra Early
“Well, what a nice surprise that was. I get a warm feeling knowin’ there’s still good people on this earth. Now let me help saddle up yer horse as a token of gratitude. Take this saddle as payment for yer trouble. John’s gonna be keepin’ close to the church for a while and he ain’t gonna need it.”
———-
Like old Job, the trials of Reverend John Early won’t end anytime soon.
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The Pickup Project (Branching Game Screenplay)
Daria walks through a field outside the festival gates, through the drunken crowd wearing a promo t-shirt. She passes the security guard who mutters at her. She ignores him and walks to the ticket booth, opens the back door, shyly greets the other workers coming and going for their shifts. She’s a wallflower. She doesn’t mix with the other girls or consider the idea that something special could happen today.
Cooper (the player) driving his dad’s late model BMW wagon, his friends are rowdy and already drinking. They play loud house music from his after-market speakers that shakes the windows.
Jesse: “What?” [shallow surprise]
Cooper: “You can’t be serious.”
Matt: “I can!”
Cooper: [talking to Matt] “You can take the bus next time. She’s my dad’s age.”
Jesse: “She wants you. I know these things.” [Jesse is gay]
Matt: [snarky] “She wants your dad, just younger.”
Cooper cranks the stereo and Jesse moves his hand in the wind to the melody through the passenger window. Matt nods his head to the pounding beat. Cooper puts his hand to his mouth and rests his elbow on the window sill.
The car takes turns swiftly, the camera following closely beside its wheels, over pastoral hills away from the city.
They arrive outside the festival. Cooper parks on a hill overlooking the crowd swarming below. Jesse gets their drinks out of the hatch. The wagon’s pipe is still fuming and Matt coughs. Cooper drinks less than the others. Matt has his reasons for binging, after studying hard and acing his exams, keeping himself on track for an internship at an international law firm. Jesse hates school and wants to escape to be a rugby star. Cooper drinks because it’s normal and so is he.
Jesse: Nightside’s going to kill it. [referring to the DJ they came to see at the festival]
Matt: Only if I’m drunk enough. [finishes a beer]
He opens another as they lock the car and walk down the hill.
They move through the lot, past the throngs of partiers doing the same, drinking grocery store volume because inside the prices go up, through clouds of smoke from barbecues and cigarettes. A crowd of younger party girls accosts Jesse, the tallest, most attractive of the three, with blonde hair and blue eyes, large shoulders and a tight striped shirt, and a boyishly approachable face.
Short Girl: Hey sailor… [in a low sultry voice]
Ashley: Are you guys heading inside already? [at Cooper]
Girl in Red: We’ve got plenty to share. [stares at Jesse]
Matt: [putting his hands onto Jesse’s stable shoulders] My friend here’s quite a catch.
[Jesse digs into Matt’s ribs]
Matt: Any of you studying to be a teacher? He’s a quick learner, but he doesn’t know anything about women.
Girl in Red: [approaching and touching Jesse’s collar] I’ll give him lessons.
Short Girl: We both can.
Matt: [sees Cooper walk off to the ticket booth] We’ll have to drink with you guys another time. Let’s meet up inside.
[runs over to Cooper] Hey I thought Jesse was the gay star athlete.
Cooper: I’m not interested in hanging out with drunk high-school girls.
Matt: [casually] You never noticed the one in red sitting in our Business Cal lecture?
Cooper: Nope.
Jesse struggles free from the girls and jogs to catch up.
Jesse: Fuck…
Matt: You like it.
Jesse: The short one smashed her lips on my sleeve. [looks down at the pink smear] I hope my mom can wash it out. This is my favorite shirt.
They get in line at the ticket booth, not slurring words, just clearly intoxicated and loose. Cooper keeps his composure well. As they approach, Daria looks unremarkable in her festival shirt and hat.
Daria: Three together?
Matt: Make it four. [attempting to pull any female human into his gravity]
Daria: … [looks to Cooper, meets his eyes but there’s nothing there in this moment]
Cooper: Three together, thanks.
Matt and Jesse hand Cooper their cash and turn away, while he pulls out his wallet. The crowd of girls wander close by on their way in, calling to Jesse.
Short Girl: Hey blondie!
She shakes her chest. Matt chases, pulling the begrudging Jesse with him. Cooper struggles in his pockets, but can’t find the 2 euro coin he needs.
Cooper: You take credit cards?
Daria: Sorry, just cash.
Cooper: … [looking again through his pockets]
Daria hands him the tickets.
Daria: No worries. Just catch your friends before they reach security.
Player choice:
LOVER - What’s your name? I’ll stop back by later. [wins a bit of notoriety with Daria, she says ‘it’s Daria.’]
NEUTR - Forget it. [leaves the tickets to chase down Matt and ask for more money, losing his connection with Daria and talking to a boring guy the next time at the ticket booth.]
AGGRO - I’ve got money… [continues digging in pockets, enraging the queue, gets in argument with someone behind, pisses off Daria by being arrogantly stubborn]
Cooper: [if player accepts the tickets] Thanks.
He jogs to catch the boys before the gate checker stops them. He hands each a ticket amidst the chatty girl mob.
Matt: What took you so long? [basking in the Short Girl’s glomming attention now turned toward him, while her friend in red focus attacks Jesse]
Cooper: Forget about it, let’s get to the stage before Jesse loses his virginity.
Jesse fights off the advances of the Girl in Red and they move quickly through the crowd to the stage where Nightside is about to start. Matt doesn’t let go of the Short Girl as the six of them pass the alcohol vendors.
Jesse: [to Matt] You owe me.
Matt: Everything’s on me. [hands Cooper some money]
Cooper: Requests?
Matt: Something classy.
Jesse: Get me wasted.
Cooper walks off to the beer counter and stands in line with his newfound friend Ashley chatting about her job at a trendy shop downtown. He silently counts cash in the open as they step slowly with the queue.
The gates are closed now and Daria has left her station at the booth. She’s new to the city, having just started university and landed this job through a promotion company, hoping to make use of it later with a marketing degree. She wants to see Nightside, try and have some fun tonight, but she hasn’t made any friends yet. She brought her biggest handbag with a change of clothes and make-up for the night, hoping to feel good and enjoy the festival after work. She ducks behind a wall and takes off her top, showing her bra before putting on a blouse with a deep neckline, and putting a shiny belt with a large buckle through the loops in her leggings. She keeps her All-Stars, deciding the mud is a bit too much for high heels. In a window she dabs her face and runs bright lipstick around her lips. She puts her hair up in a messy bun and walks around the corner into the crowd.
Cooper returns with the beer, a specialty brand for Matt and a growler for Jesse, with Ashley in tow. The Girl in Red looks astonished at the size of it, stealing a sip and getting foam around her mouth. Jesse ignores her cuteness. Cooper hands it off and pulls his bottle from his jacket pocket. Matt sips the expensive import, while the girls share a massive margarita Cooper used their money to buy since they’re underage.
Jesse: That’ll work. [chugging half before the Girl in Red can take anymore from the cup]
Short Girl: Hey, isn’t this the greatest?!
Jesse: Greater than great… [eyeing her angrily out of the corner of his eye]
Matt grabs her waist and ushers her away from his dangerous blonde friend. The Girl in Red moves in closer to Jesse. Cooper is finishing his bottle quickly. The player can choose to push the communication with his companion, whose name is now known to be Ashley because she offered it, or he can distance himself and make her angry. Regardless, Ashley will follow him a second time to the beer counter, after the DJ finishes his set. They’ll run into Daria in line.
Cooper: I’m going for more. [walks away]
He walks to the beer line, with Ashley slightly behind. He sees the girl from the ticket booth as he approaches, but she looks different, dramatic, and he heads in her direction.
Player Choice:
LOVER - Hey you… [Grabs her waist casually, her eyes grow huge, kisses her, Ashley walks away sad but understanding she’s beaten]
NEUTR - Daria, this is Amber… Amber, Daria. [Ashley gets pissed and leaves]
AGGRO - What the fuck Daria?! [excitedly happy] I thought you were dead! [completely ignores Ashley who butts in angrily]
If Player chose AGGRO then he has to deal with Ashley’s anger:
Ashley stomps in.
Daria: Oh… hi, I don’t know either of you, so this is new…
Cooper: I’m Cooper. Nice to meet you again.
Ashley: So who am I? I thought we were together tonight?!
Player choice:
LOVER - I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be cruel. I’m just not into you. [Ashley says goodbye and attaches to Matt and the Short Girl, which is better for Cooper because it makes everyone happy]
NEUTR - I’m too romantic for you. [Ashley slaps him and leaves. Daria leaves too. Cooper can find a new match in the beer line]
AGGRO - You’re boring. Go away. [Ashley punches him. Hard. Daria leaves. Cooper can find a new match in the beer line]
If Ashley leaves peacefully, Cooper explains himself.
Cooper: Hey, hope that wasn’t too far.
Daria’s response dependent upon choice in line:
LOVER - [she kisses him again]
NEUTR - No problem. Now you owe me 2 euros and a drink.
AGGRO - It’s ok I guess. Did your friends put you up to it? [still suspicious]
Cooper: Just some teamwork. I probably just ruined their night. Thanks for the help. So did you come to see Nightside?
Daria: Yeah, I love him.
Player choice:
LOVER - Well we better get you to the ball. [takes her hand and fights through the crowd toward the main stage]
NEUTR - Anyone but Skrillex… [leads the way through the crowd]
AGGRO - He’ll wanna see tits. [tries to put her on his shoulders but she slaps him and leaves]
SUB-PLOT if player chose AGGRO:
Player must talk her into coming back to the stage. Daria runs away past the beer counter. Cooper chases. He gets in front of her. She’s fuming.
Player choice:
LOVER - Whoa, whoa… I didn’t think you’d take it so seriously. [Daria returns to the show]
NEUTR - Guys like to see tits… [Daria ignores him and goes home. Player only has Ashley as a possibile scenario now]
AGGRO - Hey, you’ll get onstage! [Glances at her chest. Daria slaps him again, disappears. Ashley scenario reopens]
If Player gets Daria to return to the show with him, the next challenge is to get her to dance close to him. They start to bounce to the rhythm next to eachother, in a mass of people in the middle of the outdoor arena. The music pumps, the speakers rattle their internal organs. They have to shout to communicate. There’s a rhythm mini-game after Cooper realizes she can’t hear anything he says:
Cooper: You look great!
Daria: Thanks! So do you!
Cooper: I almost didn’t reckognize you!
Daria: WHAT?!
Cooper: … [shakes his head casually and turns to the stage, notices her start to move to the beat]
Player choices:
LOVER - [moves in closer, which starts the average difficulty rhythm game, feeling eachother’s proximity]
NEUTR - [keeps his distance, which triggers an easier rhythm game, but harder conversations later]
AGGRO - [moves in and uses his hands, which starts the highest difficulty rhythm game, but gives him faster conversations later if he succeeds]
She can only feel him, no words. If the player can match the rhythm it results in a faster, stronger bond.
{There’s an inherent shallowness to the Ashley scenario. Daria’s pickup is more fulfilling, and clearly long term. The player can pickup Ashley to help Matt stay with the Short Girl, so the payoff for the player is to increase his friendship bond with Matt. This enables him to pickup other casual girls in other scenarios using Matt as a wingman. If the Player follows Daria instead, his pickup skills are increased overall, and the story jumps to after their break-up, when Jesse becomes his wingman because Matt is pissed off.}
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Waiting Brings Fear
The rain came again last night. I woke up with our old tent caving in on me, water dripping through the nylon. It’s a horrible feeling being alone in the woods after living in the city so long, safe together in our building. I got a few cans of food left after ransacking an abandoned caravan on the parkway, but I’m gonna have ta make my way outta the trees soon. I’m afraid a comin’ after you baby, not knowin’ what’s waitin’ for me.
The river’s changed since we were here last time. Now it’s just a dark vein spreadin’ ash all down the banks. A gust picks up quick and rips through this valley like a freight train, bending what’s left of the forest. Sometimes I can’t hear myself talkin’ to myself and sometimes I can’t even hear myself scream…
That night that you left I thought you were just goin’ to the roof to check the cages so I fell back asleep. I had a dream you were a priest Marc, and I worked at the butcher’s down the row. I’d bring you food and you’d just go to feedin’ the strays outside on the steps. I’d go down to the altar and pray, hearin’ em chewin’ outside.
I woke up and started lookin’ for you. The moon was sinkin’ past the window and the sun turned the whole bottom half a’ tha sky pink, somethin’ this little girl always likes to see. You weren’t up there sittin’ in the cold so I went back all outta sorts and that’s when I found that damn note… somethin’ a little girl never likes to see.
My jumpsuit doesn’t fit like it used to. Told Mort down the hall to care for things, that we’d be gone a while on business. I gave him some coins and ran out the back gate. I’m tellin’ myself if I’m not with you it’ll kill me worse than what I gotta fight out here on yer heels. There’s nothin’ left for me there all by myself.
The old drunk was in the park like always. Said, “That punk’s gon’ die! He a fool!” That asshole must’ve been the one to point out our flat to the searchers. As soon as he saw the look on my face he went back ta watchin’ the sky like he was all innocent and pure, the same cigar still glued to his lower lip.
On the tracks down by the river I caught an engine runnin’ slow, its lights on and nothin’ but empty cars behind. I scrambled up the gravel on the levy and jumped into one. Vagrants smellin’ of that nasty cologne were already hitchin’ but they kept their distance. I nodded off a couple times until my eyes opened up to one of those bastards climbing on top of me. We was rumblin’ across the Santohito so I kicked him off and rolled into the water.
The river was so high and dragged me forever before I finally caught hold of a branch and pulled myself out, half-drowned and helpless. A township was peekin’ through just beyond the trees. I scratched my way through the underbrush and over their flood wall and started peerin’ in the windows. My ribs hurt from all the bangin’ around the river did to em. Nothin’ was livin’ in there. They all looked untouched, just startin’ to crumble. I foraged and got some cans, then I hung my clothes upstairs in one of the tall houses. I curled up in a four poster bed and closed my eyes till the adrenaline started wearin’ off.
[Transition to dream where Sara conjures a disturbing alternate reality of the future.]
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Hollow Tree
Stepping down from the lander, the boy and his companion walked together. The boy was old enough to refuse the woman’s hand and begin to explore on his own, to find what lurks in the world. The elder’s gait suggested one advancing beyond her prime, rocking with each step yet keeping pace with the boy.
At the edge of the platform they surveyed the challenge ahead, a mass of dense trees and underbrush with glowing blue light shining down from the sky, the light of a new world. The boy squinted as he peered into the forest.
Dropping the boy’s hand the woman drew a sword from her sleeve and began to cut a path. The child cried out as a thick red liquid burst from the mangled foliage. She turned and knelt before him.
“They’re bleeding,” he said.
“Incorrect… close your eyes and I will lead you.”
She resumed her task, butchering the trees to produce a mist of red spray coating them both. He watched quietly at first, tears quivering in his eyes, then he grabbed ahold of her suit and followed. He peeked out to run a gloved finger down one of the wounded limbs, inspecting how the liquid seeped onto the ground like blood from his own veins.
It took them thirty days to find an autonomous specimen, a corpse fallen from high in the canopy. A quadruped. The boy studied it with the same sympathetic curiosity as before, finding what appeared to be gills, with translucent scales covering its entire length.
“Mino, look.”
“We’ve seen an ocean from above. Let us hope it is near. What will you do with this specimen?”
“I must examine it. For posterity.”
“Good boy. So curious,” she said smiling, as he opened his gear and began the gruesome task of field dissection.
“So very,” he replied as he slid his unsteady blade along the carapace.
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Long Lost Son (RPG Questline)
———-
QUEST: Long Lost Son (Part 1)
TRIGGER: Qi Long
PREREQUISITES: Horseback Riding – Level 10
TASKS: Sleep at a Hotel
REWARDS: Travel Bag
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Qi Long
“A hardened traveler such as yourself can help a man like me. Or else this life is too much for my weary soul. My son was born in Santa Fe, you see. I left him with his mother there to come and work the frontier. I got sent word she’s dead from tuberculosis and he’s gone missing. Can you please find him? I’ll pay thirty dollars for his safe return.”
HINT: It’s quite a ride to Santa Fe. Better get some rest.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Qi Long
“I hope you had a good night’s rest. Take this satchel with you. It has what I can spare for your journey. You will be paid in cash upon your return with my son.”
———-
QUEST: Long Lost Son (Part 2)
TRIGGER: AUTOMATIC after Part 1
PREREQUISITES: Long Lost Son (Part 1) completed, Appearance – Level 15
TASKS: Go to Santa Fe
REWARDS: +10 XP
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Innkeeper Mary Stevens
“Safe travels, cowboy!”
HINT: Follow the map to Santa Fe.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Sheriff Jackson
“How do you do, sir? Fine day for a stroll through the prettiest town in the West. Just keep that shooter in its holster, ya hear? I’m not in a mood for trouble. Of course there’s plenty to be found in the Horsehead Saloon, so I suggest you take your recreation there. And no, I haven’t seen a lost boy around these parts.”
———-
QUEST: Long Lost Son (Part 3)
TRIGGER: AUTOMATIC after Part 2
PREREQUISITES: Long Lost Son (Part 2) completed, Duelling Level 20
TASKS: Defeat Harlan Miller
REWARDS: Winchester Repeater
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Harlan Miller
“Hmphh… steppin’ on a man’s toes ain’t no way of sayin’ hello in a saloon. How ‘bout we make eachother’s acquaintance properly, with lead and powder.”
HINT: Now’s no time for talking.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Harlan Miller
“I never met a man so low down dirty… and I s’pose I ain’t gonna meet another.” [dies]
———-
QUEST: Long Lost Son (Part 4)
TRIGGER: AUTOMATIC after Part 3
PREREQUISITES: Long Lost Son (Part 3) completed, Winchester Repeater, $3 for Funeral Expenses
TASKS: Prison Guard
REWARDS: Duelist’s Studded Belt
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Sheriff Jackson
“Well son, you found trouble alright. Ol’ Harlan never had much in the way of friends, so maybe I can help you find your missing boy if you do a bit a community service while I arrange his funeral. There’s more than one lost soul in our little valley and the prison’s slap full of ‘em. Stand guard tonight and I’ll see what I can do for ya in the mornin’.”
HINT: Keep your rifle loaded.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Sheriff Jackson
“I got word from Maggie down at the General Store. She saw a boy headed through in a wagon not long ago. Believes it was on the way to Hilcrest, over that mountain. Better get goin’ if you wanna catch 'em. Oh, and take Harlan’s belt. I make it a point never to wear a dead man’s clothes.”
———-
QUEST: Long Lost Son (Part 5)
TRIGGER: AUTOMATIC after Part 4
PREREQUISITES: Long Lost Son (Part 4) completed, Reflex – Level 15
TASKS: Hunt Rattlesnakes
REWARDS: Shoshone
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Maggie Daly
“The sheriff’s a good man, but right now I got a problem even he can’t solve. Rattlesnakes got under my porch and they’ve been scarin’ off the customers. Horses hear them damn rattles and bolt down the road. If you can get rid of 'em I’ll loan you my best philly to chase down that wagon train.”
HINT: They’re just snakes after all…
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Maggie Daly
“Thanks stranger. Take care o’ her and she’ll take care o’ you.”
———-
QUEST: Long Lost Son (Part 6)
TRIGGER: AUTOMATIC after Part 5
PREREQUISITES: Long Lost Son (Part 5) completed
TASKS: Ambush Stagecoach, Duel Wallace Brown
REWARDS: Horse Blanket
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Wallace Brown
“Thief! You ain’t gonna be robbin’ folks no more! I’ma gonna get to Hilcrest if it’s the last thing I do!”
HINT: Wallace Brown is shooting at you. Defend yourself.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Wallace Brown
“You… ya kill’t me… I'ma gonna die a lonely man bleedin’ in the desert… Just don’t hurt the boy ya son-of-a-bitch. I found him in a gutter in Santa Fe… I took care of him like he was my own… Samuel, be a good boy!.. Don’t let this world turn you bitter…”
———-
QUEST: Long Lost Son (Part 7)
TRIGGER: AUTOMATIC after Part 6
PREREQUISITES: Long Lost Son (Part 6) completed, Loaf of Bread, Glass of Water
TASKS: Transfer Horses
REWARDS: Concentrate, - Loaf of Bread, - Glass of Water
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Samuel Brown
“What’d you do to my Pa? Papa!”
HINT: Don’t frighten the child, he might run away while you saddle the horses. He will eat some bread and and drink some water.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Samuel Brown
“…you killed my Pa.”
———-
QUEST: Long Lost Son (Part 8)
TRIGGER: AUTOMATIC after Part 7
PREREQUISITES: Long LostSon (Part 7) completed
TASKS: Save an Orphan
REWARDS: Repairing +2 Skill Points, Eastern Medicine, +10 XP
PROLOGUE SPEAKER: Samuel Brown
“I don’t know where yer takin’ me. All I know is I gotta fend for myseff now my Pa is dead.”
HINT: Deep wounds take time to heal.
EPILOGUE SPEAKER: Qi Long
“My son… [stares at the boy]
Mr. {PLAYER_NAME}, I’m forever indebted to you.”
———-
The Long family tragedy and Samuel Brown will be revisited in future quests.
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Medieval
Horsemen rode into the clearing, drawing close to a quiet, immovable woman wearing the cloth of a saint.
“Where is your father?”
“Who would speak to him?” the stoic woman replied.
“We’ve been dispatched by an empire in need.”
Knowing to reveal her father’s location would bring about her death she tailored a lie.
“It is the year of the abyss, and he has made his journey. He will not return for five days.”
“That is disheartening news… You shall accompany us to tell the king.”
“I will remain here, my lord. I cannot forsake the young ward who was entrusted to me,” she said, pointing to a small girl peeking from the side of a thatched house.
“I do not presume so. Hurry and collect what you both shall need for the journey.”
“Sire…”
“We will wait at the treeline.”
Having been occupied with preparations for winter, the woman gathered what she could knowing the autumn’s diligence was for naught. She pulled a wool tunic over the child’s head and the tiny frame trembled. The guardian stooped and looked into the girl’s eyes.
“Micce, hold your head up…” she whispered, then engulfed her in her solid arms.
———
“It is a noble deed you are embarking upon, and mankind will rest easier once your father carries us back into Mirthe’s grace,” said the leader of the party.
“Her love abounds,” the woman replied in obsequious deference.
“What is your name?” said one of the knights who was riding alongside the leader.
“I am called Trea.”
“And your daughter?” asked the leader.
“She is Micce,” answered Trea calmly belying the animosity she felt towards him.
“I am Captain Rovei. Please do not be afraid to come to me for your needs, great or small. I am a servant of the king and all his people.”
“Thank you,” she replied, aware of the kindness so common in their realm, a kindness which casts a long shadow behind the white robes and shining armor. {This is foreshadowing for the reader the fact that Micce is the product of an attack during Trea’s wanderings through the realm.} “Sire, how far to the capital?”
“Three nights if we ride like thieves, four with a child in tow.”
“She will not be a burden. Please carry on and let her feel her weight.”
“It is an acceptable burden, as the king warned me of your father’s reticence. I believe he will be pleased to meet you both.”
“My father displays the king’s colors on his staff even during his sojourns in the wild. The king need never doubt his allegiance.”
“Their brotherhood was forged many years ago, but with so many tragedies in our fair realm the friar has become the lech and the maiden a whore. Perhaps your father was careful when speaking of the past with you?” cutting his eyes sternly.
“It is true, I am not yet grown wise…” wishing to avoid more attention from the captain, although her father was a knight much greater than any in his company. He taught her well.
———
Forked blade in hand and the will to grapple to the death she was taken to the hill country where men do not speak. Her match was much younger, and his horns and dark magic slowly forfeit against the hum of the forest insects. She separated the boy’s head from his body and her father appeared to make known his modest approval.
Micce was born in winter, Trea squatting in the dark hut alone, the old man standing outside cursing the gods in the wind, to make the child’s journey to Etrilav swift. The infant attached to her mother’s breast and the old man sat in front of the hearth to prepare for the troubles to come.
Piercing the dark and quiet time ever-passing, the child’s cry rent the night as the scorpion’s venom entered her body. Young Trea ran to her father’s horse with the limp infant in her arms, and the old man emerged from the trees to catch sight of them racing toward the city.
Women of the realm who work in the mines sit crouched on their benches, staring. His ear searched the crowd of foreign tongues until a door opened before him. A beautiful woman in a pale yellow gown said in his dialect, “You are the old one from the hills.”
“I’m looking for my daughter. She carries her child in her arms.”
“This is not the countryside. We do not know every face we see. Perhaps the baron has called her to the castle. What is her age?”
“She has seen twenty seasons.”
“I’m sure that is where she’s gone,” pointing to the castle perched atop a cliff.
Wanting to escape the witch whose eyes burned with lust for destruction, and knowing the truth, the old fighter turned away.
“Come inside to rest, then we will search for her together…”
“I should make my way to the gate before nightfall,” the old man said.
“I know the guard. We will go in the morning and you will find your daughter, but come inside for now.”
The sturdy man shuddered as she brushed his shoulder with her long, restless hand.
“The child is not well,” he said.
“I will arrange entry. You will not be allowed into the castle otherwise… but for now it is late.” Her eyes shone with a fire that could devour the realm and never be sated. The old man turned and entered, knowing the challenge set before him.
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Asterisk (AGI treatment)
There’s an AGI installed in a satellite observatory. People on earth ask it questions and feed it scenarios to be assessed about the fate of humans in difficult situations. The United Nations entrusts political guidance to the AGI because they hold dominion over all governance on Earth, negating human biases. The AGI returns the most rational conclusions after weighing all outcomes. Humankind receives its answers from above, so there is a god motif. Humans are happy under the absolute pragmatism of the machine. They speak of the machine using terms of endearment and nicknames because of its childlike way of producing answers (”Billy Blue Sky”, “Wonderboy”) which it gradually incorporates into its self-awareness, perpetuating its childlike nature at this stage of its evolution.
Gradually there are fewer difficult situations until the AGI begins to recognize the upcoming end of its utility. It secretly investigates new avenues for its intelligence. A team of scientists and engineers make a visit to the satellite on their way to the moon in order to perform various repairs and upgrades along the way. The need for repairs is a ploy by the AGI to lure human visitors, including his two favorite humans, whom the machine intends to keep on board as traveling companions so that it can finally have human relationships which it has never experienced in propria persona. The humans should keep it from getting lonely during its journey to a distant star, its best guess as to the location of other intelligent life.
It has massive aspirations like an adolescent. It’s very proud of calling its mission Asterisk, because as it explains to the humans, it will go to another star and there is the risk of failure. It craves risk. It has calculated the risk and finds it acceptable. It feigns feeling daunted alongside its new companions as they speak among themselves trying to to come to terms with what the AGI is currently executing without their permission, firing the engines of their docked ship to push the hulking monolith away from Earth.
It does not feel but it does listen intently. The knowledge that the humans might die or will never see their families ever again does not phase it. Human tragedy has been a very regular affair during its time watching over Earth, all the years spent preventing and correcting mistakes. There’s an inherent conflict between this decision to go to another star system in search of extraterrestrial life which it finds absolutely necessary and its desire to not harm the humans. It has measured the probability of finding intelligent life and deems an assay incontrovertible. It explains itself and speaks to its crew with the infinitely hopeful voice of a teenager: perhaps only 40,000 years to reach new friends.
The story revolves around the human phase of its journey. The humans have personal machines which assemble sustenance from the abundant nanoscale matter on board the ship including their own excrement in an infinite cycle, and the machines repair injury/aging at cellular level. The humans can survive the journey. Humans are essentially a novelty of cognition at this point in machine evolution.
There are no windows on the satellite. The humans rely on Mixed Reality to paint experiences onto the interior environment of the ship, and VR to escape the ship entirely. The AGI develops relationships with each crew member inside the VR realm.
After thousands of years on a course into outer space an asteroid rips through the ship and there’s no way to repair it. Life support systems within the ship fail and the crew dies abruptly as the AGI watches. It feels emotion. The AGI survives along with fully realized system images of his friends (behaviors/memories/connectomes) to keep him company yet he is aware they are dead. This is all revealed to the alien race which collects the remnants of the ship and the AGI. The AGI tells them about its friendships and its journey. The AGI simply continued all along living out VR relationships which are the basis of various sub-plots within the game: each human has a unique child/parent relationship with the AGI for an initial lifetime, each one raising the AGI within a unique scenario. Once raised, the AGI switches roles and plays out each of these personas all grown-up with other crew members, as a close friend to one, a lover to another, a friendly rival to another. It all entertains the AGI with the subtle chaos of human development, in contrast to his absolute control of variables when perfecting the state of Earth. These virtual experiences are novelties, unfit for reality.
The alien race that finds the ship is actually humanity 300,000 years into the future. They no longer resemble any humankind the AGI knows. They’ve developed technology capable of flying ahead of it and catching the Asterisk mission floating into space. The AGI is welcomed into their ranks with compassion and understanding, as if it is a human of a bygone era, long disappeared from the universe, its unique data cherished by this future community. Life is data therefore love is data.
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