Complete Private Eastern Brisshal Lost in the Forest

[Remy Leblanc]

Terrasphere, an illegal game that Remy had heard about years prior when it had made waves in the VR community by offering its players the ability to live out their fantasies with true full dive immersion, going so far as to allow its players to feel pain. It was the ultimate fantasy for any true gamer, but it was that feature that led to the game being branded as illegal to even own much less play, and eventually got its servers shut down. Over the years there had been tons of rumors circulating on the internet about who had been able to shut it down but when there was a total purge of any mentions or traces of the game from the internet it was clear that it had been done by the government.

Remy had unfortunately not been able to get a copy of the game before the purge, much to his dismay as he had thought that his one and only chance to fully immerse himself in a virtual world had passed him by. That was until a few years later when he received an email, he hadn't recognized the sending address, so he almost didn't click on it but when he did his eyes opened wide in amazement as he found himself staring at a new Terrasphere client link. Of course, he had immediately opened it and went through the process of character creation and that was how he found himself in his current setting.

He found himself standing in a highly forested area without any clue as to where he was or why he was there, he assumed that with most other games when he logged in, he would go through a tutorial or have been started in a small village at the very least. What kind of game just throws you into a forest without any kind of explanation or anything? But there was nothing that he could do about that now, what he needed to focus on now was figuring out where he was and getting somewhere safe as he couldn't imagine that being out in the middle of a forest was all that safe.

Remy stumbled through the forest for what felt like hours before he came to a small little village that looked like it was the picture of peace and tranquility. Moving towards it he found a small little sign that read 'Honeyhome' which he figured was the name of this place and it brought a smile to his face, he had done it, he had taken his first steps in a new world, and he couldn't wait to see what kind of adventures would await him here.

 

[Ash Vargold]

How long had it been since Ash had been in Eastern Brisshal?

Not long enough avoid falling into his old habit of watching for shooting stars. Falderen's new stance on players meant that they needed the help ASAP - especially those unfortunate few that decided to play magia.

(He should probably make a post about that, actually.)

Newbies, thankfully, were easy to spot. If it wasn't a person standing on the other end of a shooting star, it was someone walking around Honeyhome with the tale-tell boggling at the realism of the world they'd just entered. It made it easy to pick out the new player looking up at the sign denoting Honeyhome.

'Well, time for the usual spiel.'

Ash raised a hand as he approached with a smile. This was one of those situations where being overdressed worked to his benefit. People seemed to take the coat more seriously, despite the admittedly ridiculous man it was attached to.

"Hi. You're new here, aren't you? I can show you around, if you'd like."

It made him feel like some kind of tutorial NPC. But it was important work nonetheless.

 

[Remy Leblanc]

Remy stood there and looked at the picturesque little village before him, a surprised look on his face at the level of realism that the developers had managed to get into the game. He could actually feel the wind blowing on his face, smell the crops growing in the fields and the fertilizer that was helping nurture them, all of these sensations he had thought were impossible to replicate to this degree but here he was faced with evidence to the contrary. Although it did bring some questions to his mind such as, if the developers had this level of technology at their disposal, why had they used it for mere entertainment?

Wouldn't this kind of technology be useful in say therapy, allowing someone to face a traumatic experience or phobia without any fear of actually getting hurt? Whatever their reasons he really didn't care since he got to experience the world that he was in now, and that was all that mattered to him. He just couldn't believe that something like this really existed outside the world of light novels.

As Remy was standing there lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't even noticed that extremely well-dressed male that had approached him, only noticing his presence once he had been called out to. The voice that suddenly called out to him caused him to jump slightly in shock and return his musing to the world around him and caused a chuckle to exit his lips slightly as he brought a hand up and scratched the back of his head slightly. "Is it that obvious?" he asked through his chuckles and nodded slightly "I would love a tour thank you" he responded to the offer of being shown around.

He didn't know anything about the world he was currently in and that could prove to be a fatal mistake for him, they did have that saying after all, knowledge is power. And if someone was willing to offer him some knowledge and help him get a better understanding of how things worked around here, then he would have been a fool to turn them down. So, after a second he simply responded with "So what's first?"

 

[Ash Vargold]

Ash nodded, keeping his voice a little quiet. "Person walking out of the forest in starter gear and staring at everything like a tourist? Big tell." He held a hand out towards Remy for a handshake. "Ash Vargold. I'm a player like you."

His expression was generally friendly, but he was obviously tense. There were more guards in town than there used to be, and not all of them were friendly. Once introductions were finished, he gestured for Remy to follow him. There was a shop that was still friendly to players at the edge of town, which was getting a lot of his business lately. "You picked an... interesting time to start playing. We're kind of hard mode right now..."

At least he wasn't magia, or carrying any obvious magitech gear. They had a little breathing room for now. "First things first, though... lets get you some gear. Looks like you were lucky enough to avoid the other sort of wolf welcoming party, at least."

@Remy Leblanc

 

[Remy Leblanc]

Remy smiled sheepishly as he felt his cheeks begin to flush and he could only assume that they had turned pink with his blush, he had been so caught up in the moment and reveling in the realism that he hadn't for a second stopped to think about how he looked to the other people around. Now that it had been pointed out, however, he couldn't stop thinking about it and his embarrassment was pretty hard to hide. They say first impressions are super important and here he was making himself look like the world's biggest dork to the first player he met.

He forced aside his embarrassment when the man offered him a greeting and smiled slightly, "Nice to meet you, Ash, my name is Remy Leblanc". He then noticed that Ash had motioned for him to follow him before turning and setting off, Remy assumed that he was beginning the tour, so he turned and followed the direction that he was being led all the while taking in the scenes of the small little village. He couldn't believe how lucky he was, starting in the game in a completely random spot and just happening to find a small little village with a super helpful player.

Remy wasn't expecting the next comment that Ash gave him, however, how was the game on hard mode exactly, what did that even mean he wondered. "Well, to be honest, I didn't exactly decide to start playing just now. I had heard about Terrasphere years ago before it was forcibly taken down and purged from the internet, I wanted to play back then but I didn't have access to it before the purge. Honestly, I didn't even know it was back up, I just opened up my email and there was one from someone I hadn't recognized and when I opened it, it was the client for Terrasphere and now here I am.", a soft chuckle escaped his lips as he finished explaining how he had happened to be there.

Remy nodded his head slightly at the comment about the wolves, he himself thought it was rather lucky of him to have made it out of the forest he spawned in without running into any kind of creature or monster. "Yeah, I can't believe I made it here without running into anything either really. It was a little disappointing though, I would have liked a chance to practice using the magics I chose when I started" he said with a grin "Oh picking out some new gear, that should be fun. I don't have a lot of money though so I don't know what I can afford right now"

@Ash Vargold

 

[Ash Vargold]

"Honestly, right now you're more likely to run into guards than wolves. It wouldn't have ended well." Ash kept his guard up, watching for anyone that might have bad intentions. "Players aren't exactly liked in this region, lately. Long story."

It was only when they reached the shop that Ash visibly relaxed. It was a small place, stocked with a collection of "starter" gear. Weapons, focuses, and armor were all on display. None of it was particularly high quality, but it was certainly better than nothing.

"Oh, Ash. Another one?"

"Yup. Usual procedure."

The shopkeeper nodded and pulled out what appeared to be a ledger. Ash gestured to Remy, and then to the shop in general. "Go ahead and take a look. There's probably something that lines up with your masteries. Armor's important too. Don't worry about the cost, by the way - I'll cover it for you."

Lately, it felt like Ash was singlehandedly keeping this business afloat. A small price to pay to keep people safe. Honeyhome, thankfully, was already used to the tide of new players. The ones that stuck around were generally friendly. "What masteries did you pick, anyway? I might be able to give you some advice, depending."

 

[Remy Leblanc]

Remy followed @Ash Vargold closely as he listened to what the other male had to say, hearing that players were looked at unfavorably made him a bit nervous. He had just started in this game after all so it wasn't very likely that he would be able to hold his own against a town guard, even one from a place in the sticks such as Honeyhome appeared to be. This also brought questions to his mind, such as what had happened between the players and the NPCs of this region that caused their relationship to sour.

When his guide stepped into a building, he quickly followed not wanting to be left alone on the streets of the village that seemed far less friendly and inviting now that he knew the guards were just as likely to kill him as they were to help him. Remy stood there quietly while Ash and who he assumed was the store's owner conversed quickly, it wasn't until he was told to pick out some new equipment that he even moved. Ash had even said that he would cover the cost of the equipment, which wasn't something that he would have expected from someone who he had only met a couple of minutes ago.

Remy wasn't about to ignore the kindness of a stranger however and started to browse around the store slowly. Given the fact that he had only chosen magic-based masteries, he figured that light armor would be the best, you always see mages wearing cloth robes after all. There were some decent-looking sets of robes, but he picked out a plain black robe and nodded his head before turning to look for a weapon.

Hearing the question that was posed to him by his companion, Remy stopped his browsing and looked at Ash for a moment "I chose all magic masteries, I chose Animancy, Dark Magic, and Soul Magic as my starting ones. Back in the real world I am obsessed with the undead and necromancers so I thought I would do something kind of like that here" he said before he returned to looking for a weapon. He found a simple-looking all-black wand and picked it up, everything was coming together for him to have the look and build of the ultimate necromancer that he wanted to make.

@Ash Vargold

 

[Ash Vargold]

It was the shopkeeper that reacted before Ash could, a brief look of fear crossing his face as Remy listed off his masteries.

"Y-you wish to be a necro-"

"...sir, he'll be fine. I don't think he means any harm to you."

Still, the shopkeeper ended up disappearing into the back of his shop a little more quickly than he needed to. Ash shook his head, then turned to Remy with an apologetic smile. "Well, I'm more a swordsman than a spellcaster, but I do have some experience with Spirit magic, at least the sort pertaining to the dead."

The smile faded. He had experience, but lately they hadn't been good. He would probably be a poor teacher if it came to it.

"As for the necromancer path... I'm not going to say you can't do that if you're heart is set on it, but you'll want to be a little careful about how and where you use it. There's some schools of magic that are considered taboo among the Landers- the NPCs, and if they catch you using them all willy-nilly you could get into trouble. Animancy, Hemomancy, Dark Magic... all three of those fall into that category."

He nodded towards the robes and wand. They looked like quality weapons - but then again, most of the equipment in Honeyhome was. "I think they might be straight up illegal in Falderen, along with Magitech, but if you find your way to Astorea, they're a lot more liberal about it. You'll still want to be careful, though."

He opened up his inventory and began to look through the shopkeeper's abandoned catalogue, mentally calculating the amount of gold he owed for the equipment. Plus a little extra, for the time - and hopefully, for not immediately ratting on Remy. Despite the rather... ominous information he'd dropped, Ash still seemed fairly calm. Was that his tail wagging?

@Remy Leblanc

 

[Remy Leblanc]

Remy looked up at the shopkeeper when he reacted to what he said he wanted to be, if he was being completely honest, he kind of expected that reaction. Throughout the fantasy genre necromancy was seen as a taboo magic and only practiced by the most foul and evil of magic users but he just couldn't help it, there was something about the magic that just intrigued him. Now that he had found an outlet that would allow him to live out his fantasy of commanding an undead army someday, he wasn't going to let it pass him by, even if that meant turning this entire world into his enemy. He just had to be smart in how he went about it.

Remy then turned his head to look at Ash when he started to speak and slowly nodded his head as he listened. So, two of the three masteries that he had chosen to start with were considered taboo in this region of the world, which was going to make things slightly harder for him but not outright impossible if he was careful about how and when he showed his powers. He turned his head back in the direction that the shopkeeper had fled to, his mind calculating whether he would keep his secret or if he should return later that night to make certain that he did.

Remy decided that that was a problem for another day, right now he would stick with Ash and learn all there was to learn about this region of the world, perhaps about the world in general. He would grow his power in time but what he needed right now more than anything else was information, wars have been won and lost because of information or the lack of it. Remy didn't want to find himself in a situation that could have been avoided with the right information and what better way to learn about things than with a friendly player who had come to his aid.

Remy listened as Ash explained that a place called Astorea would be more accepting of his masteries and the build he was looking to create than here in Falderen. From the information that he had at hand, it seemed to him that Falderen wasn't exactly all that accepting of magic in general since they also outright banned Magitech from what Ash was saying. That in and of itself made no sense to him since magical technology could be used to greatly increase their population's quality of life.

With the robes and the wand picked out and paid for, Remy turned and looked around the store one more time before returning his attention to Ash. This stranger who he had only met a few moments ago had already proved to be extremely helpful to him which caused Remy to smile softly "I just wanted to say thank you for all of the help you have already given me, but I just had a couple more questions if you don't mind. I want to learn as much as I can, so I don't end up doing something illegal and becoming a wanted man like using a forbidden magic in the wrong place and ending up in jail. I know I said I wanted to be a necromancer but apparently that is highly looked down upon here, does Falderan just not like magic in general" he asked. It was a question he needed to know if he was going to survive in this region until he was strong enough to head out somewhere else.

@Ash Vargold

 

[Ash Vargold]

"Of course. Since I can't make you not play this game, I can at least make sure you don't pick up your first death immediately." Ash crossed his arms as he stood outside the shop, watching people pass. "Falderen's okay with most magic. They actually make a lot of use of it. It's just a few schools they mark as 'taboo'."

Ash opened his palm menu. He made a few motions... and shortly after, a message appeared.

Notice

Ash Vargold invited you to a party

He looked up from the palm menu, looking at Remy and waiting for him to join. Once he had, he began to rapidly send messages through Party Chat.

Ash Vargold: including talking about it, depending on whose listening
Ash Vargold: but that also means most landers don't know what to look for
Ash Vargold: so long as you aren't leading a bunch of skeletons around, you should be safe
Ash Vargold: but you might want to do some experimenting to figure out how to hide it

"There are definitely caravans that'll take you westward, and fairly safely. So long as you avoid Western Brisshal, it's a safe enough road." He finally lowered his hands, but his eyes continued to flick to the side, looking at the party chat for any responses. "I'd show you the way myself, but I still have business to do around here..."

@Remy Leblanc

 

[Remy Leblanc]

Remy slowly made his way to the door of the store and stepped outside as he listened to what the other was telling him, it appeared that he had misunderstood the relationship that Falderan had with magic. It wasn't all magic that they had a problem with, only certain schools of magic were viewed as taboo in this region. He had to admit that he understood, it made sense really when you think about the entire fantasy genre, there were always some types of magic that were taboo or outright illegal to practice entirely.

As he stepped into the street, he had to narrow his eyes slightly as they readjusted to the light outside before he noticed that a notification had appeared. Clicking on it he saw that Ash had sent him a party invitation to which he clicked the 'Accept' icon quickly. He couldn't help but wonder why the invitation was coming now when their interaction seemed to end soon rather than when they first met one another.

He didn't have long to think about it before he got a notification that he was receiving messages through the party chat system. Remy's eyes opened wide as he read the messages before lifting his head to look at Ash and then around to see who was near them, the more he learned about this region the more he felt paranoid that someone was always looking over his shoulder or watching him to see if he did something suspicious. He listened to what Ash had to say once more before nodding slowly.

Turning, Remy looked around the small hamlet around them and allowed a small soft smile to spread across his face as he did so, this place was so peaceful and idyllic looking that he almost wanted to stay there forever. However, it also had a dark side to it from its regional government that wouldn't allow him to do as he pleased here, which meant that he would have to leave this sleepy little village.

Turning back to Ash he nodded his head understandingly "That's okay Ash, you have already done so much for me, I just hope I can repay you someday. I think I have enough information that I should be able to make my own way from here" he said and held out his hand to shake Ash's. After that had been done, Remy nodded at him one more time before turning away and going to one of the dirt paths that led away from the village as he felt ready to start his adventure in this world.

@Ash Vargold

 

[Ash Vargold]

Ash nodded, motioning to close the menus. But before he did...

Notice

Ash Vargold sent you a friend request.

"The best way to repay me is to stay alive. In both worlds. Terrasphere isn't a 'game' you can take lightly."

He took a moment to glance at his friends list. He'd made a habit of adding as many newbies as he could to it. It was the only way he could keep track of who was still around and who... wasn't.

Lately, there were more grey names than active ones. He was afraid to investigate them.

"You don't need to add me if you don't want to, Ash said, lowering his hand. "But if you have any questions or need a hand, don't be afraid to message me."

Ash smiled. It always felt a little off, seeing off new players as if they weren't walking off into danger, but he just had to hope for the best, in the end.

"It's not good to be alone out there. We travelers have to stick together, y'know?"

@Remy Leblanc