Before the game resumes I just wanted to say that I never expected this to get as popular as it did. Thank you so much!
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The soft morning breeze tickled my skin causing my hair to stand on end. Wow, I thought, the attention-to-detail in this game is unbelievable. I sat up and observed my surroundings.
Tall sugar pine trees towered above our heads as swift rays of sunlight crept through the branches. The sky was a pale blue with only a few clouds in my view. I stood up on my legs as the harsh reality of this entire situation set in.
I might never get out of here. I might never get married, or have kids, or even see Sarah again. I felt my head slump on my shoulders as a single tear dropped off the tip of my nose. My breathing shortened and I began to cry.
"Hey, Pussy," Hazel interrupted, "You're kinda' ruining the view!" She took deep breath in through her nose and let air release through her mouth with an "Ahhh."
"What's your problem?" I muttered, turning my head to look at her.
"What's yours?" She snarkily replied.
"I had a fiancé, you know this," I shot.
"Ahh, I see..." she inquired with a smirk.
"What?"
"You said that you had a fiancé," she rolled her eyes, "You've already given up, haven't you?"
"What? No!" I shouted.
"Seems like you did... Listen, I want to get out of here just as much as you do, maybe even more. But the more time we spend bathing in our sadness, the more time we waste. We could be training right now, we could fight a boss, we could do so much but you have to be a little pussy." I wiped the tears away from my eyes and allowed my eyebrows to assume their natural position.
"I'm not a pussy," I said as I opened my inventory.
"Really? Then prove it," she smiled and walked away from the camp, "Come on, we have some shit to do." I followed her.
We walked back to the trail that I wandered away from the night before and trekked away form New Town. Only a few players populated the trail, most of them were already in the next town over, Pineville.
We hiked for a few hours until the outline of Pineville finally emerged over the horizon. A sigh escaped my lips. We were walking for such a long time and Hazel wouldn't allow any breaks. I opened my inventory and equipped the cooked hog meat. I brought it to my lips and chomped through its flesh.
The flavor of the meat expanded over my tongue and slipped down my throat. The realism in this game was nothing but astounding. My eyes widened with surprise at the taste of the meat. Although it was unflavored, it still tasted better than I expected.
Hazel and I entered Pineville through the main gate and were immediately greeted by an NPC (non-player character).
"Hello, traveler!" he cheered. He was probably just a little bit taller than I was with a brown beard that ended just above is chest. He wore a flannel shirt that was tucked into overalls and thick boots that adorned his feet.
"Hi," Hazel acknowledged.
"I was wondering if you would like to help me with a mission? Do you accept?" He stuck out his hand for one of us to shake it. I looked to Hazel for confirmation, she nodded, and I gripped his hand.
"Great!" He cheered, "Was out chopping wood with my daughter when a family of wolves attacked. Sadly, my daughter and I were separated and now she's lost. My wife and I are extremely worried. Can you find her and bring her back here?"
"We sure can!" Hazel chimed, "Where were you two when you were separated?"
"We were just beyond that hill," he pointed, "When you see a bunch of tree stumps you'll know you're in the right place."
"Quest Accepted!" A notification read on the top of my view. The two of us walked over to the hill and stood at the very top.
Atop the hill we saw a huge gorge with a small stream running through the middle. Crystals of light refracted off of the surface and sparkled as the day pursued. Trees aligned the walls of the gorge that created the perfect shelter for the animals behind them. To our left we saw a plateau with various tree stumps scattered about. That was our objective.
I pointed the plateau out to Hazel, she smiled, and we journeyed down the hill to the location.
