The Dragon's Wrath: Shadows in the Flame (9 page)

Chapter 82: Bergenheim

(Thursday, December 2nd Game Day / Friday, April 23rd Real Day)

Six hours later we had finally arrived at the port town of Bergenheim for what was originally intended as a short pit stop to trade and gather information. Instead it would serve as our stopover for the night and would allow the crew some entertainment, nourishment, and eventually rest.

Bergenheim was a small town with a standing population of maybe three-hundred NPCs or inhabitants as the game liked to call them and was primarily made up of traders and sea-going men. Sailors, fishers, and traders… that was this town’s entire existence. Far enough south that they could trade with the middle kingdoms and then serve as the middlemen to the rest of the North, life was good here.

A cross between the developed town near the Outcast Dungeon Cave and of more typical Dark Age buildings, all save for the inn were one-story rectangular structures constructed primarily of wood and with thatched roofs. Some were dug partially into the ground a few feet as was customary to decrease the amount of materials required and to provide added heat retention and protection from the elements.

The major buildings were more structures as the docks were by far the fanciest and largest things in town. Docks and piers large enough to accommodate dozens of ships at a time with storage only a few steps away, the entire setup had been catered to the trade industry. A true industry town, it was the complete opposite of any of the villages further north that had nothing else to them, only existing as settlements and nothing more.

As far as unique buildings went though, there were a few longhouses which was a nice touch but they belonged to the bigger families and were not open to the public, much to my dismay. Instead the more modern two-story inn was where visitors stayed and to compare it to the inn near the Outcast Dungeons… well, in short it was lacking amenities.

A rough bed with old furs and a provided washbasin made up the living arrangements as I found the quarters a little cramped and in general rather uncomfortable. The thought of sleeping on a dirty bed where hundreds of others had slept was probably the worst of it. The likelihood of it ever being taken out for a thorough cleaning was probably slim to none. If anything it was beaten and dusted… maybe if I was lucky it had been taken out and washed at some point but I doubted it.

One of the benefits of living near a river was the ability to bathe daily, sometimes twice daily and it was of regular practice up in Dragon’s Breach. Vikings in general bathed often as far as history was concerned and grooming was believed to be of some importance, evidenced by combs and other artifacts found in graves. Thankfully the game already implanted that seed into the population.

Unfortunately though that practice didn’t extend to the busy inns… the conditions reminded me of cheap, budget motels rather than a three-plus star or diamond hotel. This was definitely a one-star motel if not half of a star. And yet it still cost a pretty penny.

Oh well, other than the rooms the rest of it appeared to be in order. All in all Bergenheim seemed to be a fairly standard town. Booking every single room at the large inn proved to be a bit costly though as I needed to house thirteen bodies but the goodwill would eventually be returned. They worked hard and never truly complained, so a day of rest and relaxation was worth the expenditure. The only thing it hurt was my pockets.

Having settled in at the bar that was on the first floor, the majority of my crew were busy intermingling with the locals. Most were sociable and the temperament seemed to be a lively one. Drinks were making their rounds as some folksy live music was taking place on a small stage. The food wasn’t terrible either, a plate of smoked herring garnished lightly with some wild vegetables and served with cheese and a rye, wheat mix flatbread.

A cup of mead was also provided and seemed to be the drink of choice here. Fermented honey for a drink. People sure came up with strange things. Honey, yeast, and water plus some time and you no longer had to worry about contaminated water.

Simple living at its finest.

“All’s well?” asked one of the servers as he passed by.

“All is well,” I replied slowly with a smile and a nod.

Hospitality was important in Viking culture and despite the
touristy
nature of this southern-border town of the North, they made up for it with generous portions and a pleasing atmosphere. It really wasn’t a bad town. There were even some players about too. If I had any complaints, it would be about the journey to get here.

A part of me wondered how different life would be if I had chosen this location to start the game instead. It was rated a 4.2/10 compared to the Northern Triangle’s paltry 0.5/10. Close enough to the middle kingdoms to adventure with the rest of the gaming population but far enough that there was still privacy and some semblance of personal space.

Ah, life would have been good here.

“Heh,” I chuckled to myself.

A good life maybe, but then there would be no Relic, no Dragon’s Breach, no Kate and on and on. Sometimes an early sacrifice made for a better future. Yeah, the Northern Triangle was the right place at the right time.

I had no regrets.

Enjoying my meal while listening to the conversations of those around me, I couldn’t help but notice a lone female sitting in the corner. A rather large female warrior that seemed out of place in the happy atmosphere with her solemn expression and lack of food or drink on the table.

A peculiar NPC… or player, it was hard to tell. She looked to be a few inches over six feet in height and had a broad build that was well-developed. The scars on her face and arms told tales of their own as she quietly sat and stared at the wooden post in front of her. An overly seriously NPC sitting at a corner table by herself in a rather carefree town.

I was intrigued by the oddity.

If it stood out there was a reason for it. That was one of my mottos in this game and it had served me well so far. Waving over the barkeep that had taken my order, I wanted to ask a few questions before making any moves of my own.

“What bothers you traveler?” asked the congenial old man.

“The stone statue over yonder,” I replied with a wink of my left eye and a slight tilt of my head in the same direction. “I’m curious, is she a regular around these parts?”

Leaning his head in with a quickly changing expression, the old man hesitated for a second before deciding on his reply. “She’s been a regular for about a month now,” he explained with a hushed voice that could barely be heard over the music and multiple conversations going on in the background.

“Lost her family on the voyage, poor gal.”

Setting his hands on the table while maintaining his lean, he sighed briefly before putting in his last word.

“Best leave that one be lad, she’s a troubled soul.”

“Ah is that so,” I said softly while thinking over my options. “Thank you.”

An NPC that lost her family on a voyage nearly a month ago in game days while at the same time, kraken-types were roaming the seas and reportedly had been attacking ships that passed through. Maybe it was me, but I smelled a quest chain for a Companion.

The game was odd like that, with its random system that allowed NPCs to develop organically. Nearly all the NPCs started out with the same base template but with randomized attributes and appearances left to separate them apart. After that they were free to roam the world so long as they weren’t tied down to a specific job. If by chance that NPC died or experienced something in-game that changed its course, the opportunity for it to go on its own path existed.

Some of the events were slightly scripted but most weren’t. Katherine was supposed to die and become part of a Quest Chain for the Earl of Andal. Selene’s future was undetermined and unknown. Then I got involved, killed the Earl, and changed the fate of the NPCs involved. Now Andal had no earl and was ruled by a loose republic or democracy of sorts. The quest chain never materialized this time around.

The game state changed.

It evolved.

Now an NPC sat off to the side clearly at a loss due to her loss. The plausible story being that a giant squid attacked her ship and her family was lost in the fray. As a survivor she now sat at the table where her family should have been. Waiting and wasting the days away for a scene that will never come. Her situation was not to be envied.

She was either a normal NPC that wasn’t tied down to a job or village, a free recruit as some have noted on the forums, or she was a Companion with attributes that were far above the standard NPCs. Since there wasn’t a whole lot known about Companions with the game only being a few months old, most of the general ideas were simple speculation.

There were theories floating about that any regular NPC could be elevated to a Companion if you spent the requisite time developing them. I wasn’t sure if that was the case myself but it warranted a look.

Astrid was one such candidate, and so too was Eindride, Ansgar, Enok, Roald, Havardr, Sigsteinn, Soren, Stigr, and the whole lot of others that had developed into something more than your average NPC. This game was extremely complex and there were still too many questions to which there were no answers.

This was a real-to-life fantasy simulator of epic proportions.

And so, I was convinced that this physically imposing female was something special. Watching the barkeep walk off, I opened my browser and began to search the net for any clues to Bergenheim and the strange NPC.

The results were small in number but immediate and concise for my purposes. The first few posts were about a strange NPC that refused to talk to anyone, one that happened to fit the description of the solemn female.

The latter posts only served to reconfirm the earlier submissions.

She had been here for a little over a week in real time and about twenty players had posted about attempting to interact with her and failing. They believed her to be a Companion as well. A Companion or a Quest Chain, at the very least.

I would happily take either.

Waving down the barkeep again, it was time to put my plan into motion. My Reputation stat preceded me and raised my importance to random NPCs to the point where they were generally friendlier. There was no shame in abusing that.

“Two meals and drink,” I ordered from the old man as he looked at me with an odd expression. “I’ll let you decide on the type but preferably a gamey meat, no fish.”

“Lad you’ve already had a meal, now you want two more?” he asked as his face turned to a grin, realization setting in. “So you wish to try the lost soul huh, well I won’t stop you.”

Letting a grin of my own slip through, I simply nodded as I moved and headed over towards the table of the lone woman. Standing by the edge of the table, I placed my hand on the tip of the empty seat across from her. Giving her plenty of space, her attention had shifted slightly as she looked up at me with dead eyes.

“May I join you?” I asked clearly but kindly.

“…” was her reply as she turned away, resuming her empty stare at the wall.

Sitting down with little care for her lack of acceptance or invitation, I turned my seat slightly so as not to be directly in her line of sight. With an arm placed to rest on the edge of the table, a shift of my posture let me watch the audience and the live band without being too much of a nuisance.

After a few minutes of silence between us had passed, the food finally arrived and was placed down at the center of the table for us to divide as we saw fit. The dish closest to her was a rabbit stew with potatoes while the one closest to me appeared to be a roasted lamb shank with a vegetable medley.

I could practically smell the garlic, cumin, and honey that was used to season the lamb as my mouth began to water. Not bothering to actually turn my head, I eyed the food out of the corner of my eye. Using my peripheral vision to watch the lady’s reaction, it was obvious that she was interested in the lamb shank sitting before her.

Letting the food sit, it wasn’t until the mead was brought that I finally turned to face my dinner companion and met her gaze. She was hungry, that much was easy to tell. The coin purse on the side of her belt was rather small and could hardly contain enough coin to last another month at the current rates of the inn.

The cost of meals being considered, it was obvious that she was stretching her budget to last through the winter. Well, it didn’t take a genius to figure that she wouldn’t actually make it but I wasn’t going to tell her that.

In fact I wasn’t going to tell her anything.

Pushing the lamb dish away from me and letting it stop in front of her, I also slid one of the cups of mead over to her side and left it there without a word. Lifting the rabbit stew and setting it at my edge of the table, I began to eat in silence.

Ten minutes had passed by and my stomach was now beyond full.

Ready to burst at the seams, I left the remaining mead where it was and looked around the room. The lady on the other side of the table had resisted the tempting meal as it began to cool and lose its wonderful aroma. Realizing that the unsociable girl was reluctant to accept the handout while I was still sitting there, I stood up with a nod in her direction and headed towards the stairs.