Private Eastern Brisshal Ghosts in the Woods

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"They're ghosts in them woods Brucie I'm tellin ya!"

Brutus sat across from one of the elderly huntsmen of Honeyhome, casually sipping a cup of warm cider thoughtfully as he listened to the mans tale. He'd begun to forge a bit of a name for himself as a hero of the people, no matter how big or small the mission he would take it, no questions asked. This one was one of the first ones that had him questioning that policy.

"Ghosts?" He raised an eyebrow. "Like the spooky WoooOOoooOO kind?"

The huntsman rolled his eyes. "You think I'm nuts just like ol Stankins dontcha?"

"No, I'm just making sure you're saying ghosts and not like...goats."

"I didn't fecking stutter." The man growled. "GHOSTS. G H O S T S. Spooky scary spectral nonces with no respect for the livin!"

"And you saw them where?" Brutus asked setting his drink down.

"Out by the standin stones! I hear they're the ghosts of Starcalled!" Brutus' eyes narrowed at this, and he rose to his feet.

"I'll go ahead and check it out. I'll let you know what I figure out."

 

[Haru]

The quest of Brutus brought him out into the woods proper. It was hardly a place for the dead to rise-this forest was a peaceful one, a quiet one. It was probably just some brat of a player who decided to use their animancing or spiri-whatever to spook the locals.

Right?

What he found was unlike what he expected to first find in the forest. There was no rampant player nor common forest beast to block his path (again). Instead he found naught but an open patch in the dark woods, one where the light shone through like a single light that beheld a stage.

Inside this light was a man who could possibly be argued to be a part of that very ray that illuminated the grove. That man who questionable came from above sat peacefully in the clearing over a mound where something had been buried. Soft grass and a bed of flowers had sprouted around the mound, and so it surely must have been buried for quite a long time.

Who was this man? Nothing showed up on Brutus' HUD, not to indicate either player or otherwise. It was sort of like how the most common villager didn't show up to crowd a player's HUD. But would such a man be out here sequestered in the woods, framed by the light as he was so?

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Fucking spooky.

Brutus hadn't ever seen something like this before, in fact, he'd know the woods like the back of his hands. This was aberrant, new, and potentially dangerous. He had no idea who or what this man was, an NPC? An Enemy? Only time could quite tell, and he was going to find out one way or another.

As he entered the clearing, he kept his canon cradled carefully in his arms across his chest. Not hostile, but displaying that he was on guard. His heart beat thumped ever so slightly. Something in his instincts was telling him that this was wrong. That he shouldn't be here, but here he was, and here he would stay.

"I don't suppose..." Brutus trailed off. "You'd happen to know anything about why there's rumors of ghost stories running around out here now would you?" He tried to phrase it as a question, but it came out closer to an accusation more than anything else. To be fair, he was fairly certain he'd gotten his mark here, and he was exactly where he needed to be. What this man may or may not have to say would change the pace of their interaction entirely.

@Haru

 

[Haru]

The laughter that echoed throughout the clearing was soft, smooth and particularly distinct to Brutus. His experience as an actor recognized the tone of that voice-That of a man playing the role of one who held back remorse in his voice, the curling hints of sorrow dripping through the cracks of his teeth.

It was testament to a great actor when one could bring such subtlety to a gentle voice... Only, for this man, it didn't sound as if he were acting. This man's VA must have been criminally under-casted if he played the role of a single man in the woods.

"Yes, I know of him. You've come on word of Sir Sallyhorn, I'd wager? What you seek is right here, beneath this mound. I've laid him beneath the earth just a moment's time ago. Ha, ha, ha..." The words he spoke were phrased in just about the most suspicious way possible, yet the smooth and clear tenor of his voice almost washed those concerns away. Almost.

"You could go speak to him, if you wished. You can tell that old Sallyhorn that you've done the job, if you wish. I hadn't done this for a reward, or even the peace of that huntsman's mind." His gaze turned towards the mound once again as a palm rest upon a piece of driftwood that stuck out of it. It had looked like a grave marker at first glance, though now that Brutus had the moment's time to take a look it was obvious that it wasn't made to be such. It seemed to be more of a walking stick. Perhaps this man was less of a ghost and more of a pilgrim.

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The giant squinted at the white haired ghost of a man, taking a couple steps forward. He got the feeling that this was the ghost people were talking about, not whatever the man was referring to. He had a bright way of speaking, yet his voice was filled with melancholy. He eyed the walking stick, then the man again, then the grave.

"So you came out here and laid a spirit to rest?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Because I heard of some dead starcalled wandering around out here and I was curious. I've heard...rumors."

Dying in the game too many times ended your actual life it would seem. Three deaths would trap you in the game, four was a final death, a fifth could brick you from the server as well. If he could meet a ghost, he could try and get valuable life altering information about this entire ordeal. About what might lurk on the other side of the digital veil.

@Haru

 

[Haru]

"You know of it so quickly..? It seems that Levi's efforts to spread that knowledge to Travelers such as you has been working. It's good to see the Lion Arms doing well with themselves in Zeus' absence." Haru's words were kind towards what what Brutus knew to be an important NPC, though his expression was harder than it was. This seemed to be a serious topic for the man.

"You may call me Haru, new Traveler. Those rumors have more truth to them than many think-you should be careful if you can. This world is not a kind place. Your life in and out of your experience here could be altered. Frankly, I think you should put your cannon down and find a different hobby than saving this world-and take those you care for with you while you can."

The statement was harsh. His voice was not-there was concern in what Haru had to say.

"This is no mere recreation. You shouldn't in Terrasphere just to play a game alone."

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

It all clicked together with the word game. This man wasn't an NPC, he was a player.

He was UI locked.

Brutus found his hands tightening slightly as his jaw clenched. This was the SECOND person to tell him to fuck off from this game, to run like some sort of scared child back to the bunny slopes of safe government approved VR games while there were people running around here risking their lives. This game was real, it might as well have been a second life that Olivier had gotten to live. To leave would mean killing Brutus, the man he'd become while playing the game. The man he wanted to be.

"I understand that this isn't some game. People, both real and in the game die all the time. Monsters lurk in here and terrorize the meek, and those people need a hero. That's what I intend to be, a hero. In order to do that I need information. Will you be willing to share that information with me?"

@Haru

 

[Haru]

"Information? No, no... I'll be willing to share much more than that. If you truly wish to stay, Bruce, I would do everything that I can to aid you." How had Haru known his name? Weren't UI-Locked people, according to the word he was given, unable to see the status of others?
-Wait, he'd said Bruce, not Brutus. It was probably that old man Stankins who had told him...

He didn't seem to care about such pretense, instead continuing, "You're going to be in danger too, you know. Who would save the man who saves the weak? Ha, ha, ha... I will do so, should you wish me to. I'd like to be a friend of yours, if I could."

The sage's staff was plucked from the earth, placed before himself into the grass. As it was, the burial he stood upon was given a single kindness-flowers sprouted above the mound in moments' time. The cycle of growth and bloom unfolded beneath the light, petals curling around the sage's boots.

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus was caught off guard for a moment, just a moment. Stankins had been talking about him it seemed, and this man had crossed his path. A chill ran down his spine, and he simply took a deep breath and dismissed his canon back to his inventory. He kept his arms crossed, one finger nervously tapping against his bicep as he contemplated how to handle this.

"Well then, if you have more than information to offer, and extend you hand in friendship, I would be remiss to turn you down Haru." He would take a few steps forward, closing the gap between goliath and sage, offering a hand to shake.

"You seem like you are wise in the ways of this world. Whatever you could offer in order to help me help the denizens of this land, both Virtual and Actual would be greatly appreciated. I seek answers to the death, answers to the mysteries of this land, and answers to the people behind this game."

@Haru

 

[Haru]

Though the flowers had grown around his very boots, the footsteps that the sage took did not disturb their integrity. Haru walked past the flowers, grave and the living man who stood behind them, only stopping whence he reached the edge of the grove. The shadow of the tree he stood in painted him in another light-or rather, the lack of one. Where he was once a part of the descending beam of light, it now seemed as if he would leave Brutus' sight should he lose focus of the shadow.

It was almost as if the man was hardly even there. A ghost, if Brutus' description were to draw a picture of the man.

"I see. I would be more than happy to show you a way forwards-to make steps against the encroaching Final Death that plagues the world so. Why don't we go on a walk? Ha, ha, ha... I was just about to take a lovely stroll to Pormont as the sun rose. Why don't we enjoy the journey together while I tell you more?"

When Haru left on his travels this time, he did not do so alone.