Pieces of Sonder

{Dear Shaman Calaren,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to pass along some important information. If you could pass this along to other shamans, many may benefit from it as well.

It has recently come to my attention that a new kind of potential qi user is beginning to appear. They do not seem to have any potential. However, they are extremely powerful. I would like to ask you to at least give them a chance to learn to control their qi. 

I realize it may seem silly to train someone who does not appear to have potential, but over the past few months, I have started to worry about the state of our world. Monster appearances have become more and more common. Usually, between us shaman and the demoniclasts, we can manage the number of monsters, but I think we are out of balance. I believe helping these people learn to manage and grow their qi may help all of us.

These people with special qi will learn quickly. If you teach them the basic qi breathing technique, they will be able to push their qi out of their body with assistance within a few days. 

Since these potential students are impossible to sense, I have devised a strategy to spot them. Inside this parcel, I have included thirty small vials of a special potion. If someone wishes to learn shaman skills from you, show them one of these vials and ask them to identify it.

If they have special qi, they will be able to answer}

Knock Knock

Freya stopped mid pen stroke and looked up at the door. She had let everyone in town know that she was staying here, so if anyone had any problems, they could find her. Did someone require her assistance?

Opening the door, blue-hair greeted her. Nightscythe smiled and gave her a nervous wave. 

“Goodmorning, Shaman Evenkey!”

Freya dropped her business smile, “...What do you want? Do you have the money already?”

“Ah, no...” Nightscythe scratched the back of his head. 

“How did you even know I was here?” Freya demanded, crossing her arms. She’d spread the word amongst Safka’s residents about her temporary residence, but she had explicitly asked them not to tell outsiders unless absolutely necessary. Nightscythe didn’t seem to be dying, so she was surprised they had already let her location slip.

“Ah, one of my skills allows me to see through walls. I checked all the inns looking for you.”

Freya closed her eyes and put a hand on her forehead, Sometimes I just want to kill all these game players.

“What do you want?” she repeated.

“Ah well, I wanted to ask you something. Actually, two things.”

Freya sighed, “Fine, come in.”

Her small inn room seemed even smaller with the large table the innkeeper helped her bring in to make potions on. Freya brushed aside some room and sat two chairs across from each other.

After settling down in one of the two seats, Nightscythe stared at the table. Underneath his blue hair, his expression hardened. They sat in silence for a few moments before he began, “First, are you in contact with the game developers?”

Freya blinked, “Game developers? You mean the people who made the game we’re playing in?”

“Yes, do you know anything about them?”

He leaned forward in his chair. His expression was not curious like Freya was used to seeing when Heilong asked questions. He seemed more stern, more desperate.

“I have some suspicion that the wizards are involved in manifesting the game in this world, but other than that, I don’t know.”

“Yes, some kind of high magic has to be involved,” Nightscythe said, a tint of disappointment in his voice. “Then, do you know of anyone else like you? Someone who was an NPC and then became a player, or even the other way around?”

“The other way around? A player becoming an NPC? Is that possible?” she looked at Nighscythe skeptically. 

As she understood it, players got their special status from their Player Card. It’s how she turned into a player after she picked up a dead player’s Player Card. It was a special item that could not be traded, dropped, or leave a player’s inventory unless they died. 

If it were possible to turn back into an NPC, I would have done it when I got into this game mess… probably.

“I don’t know if it’s possible. I just kind of hope it is,” Nightscythe said, running his hand along a crack in the table.

Freya raised an eyebrow at that, but he didn’t continue. Curiosity prodded her to keep pressing him, but his dispirited countenance made her hold back. 

“Either way, I haven’t heard of anyone else like me or the opposite,” Freya said, answering his original question.

“I see,” he said, frowning. His young teenage face suddenly looked decades older.

“So those were your two questions?” Freya asked.

“Ah, wait, no! That was only one question!” Nightscythe said, clambering out of his chair. 

Freya smirked a little; she suspected as much. She assumed one of his questions would be about teaching him Meridian Manipulation. Despite ruining her shaman shop, he didn’t seem like a bad person. As she said in her letter to shaman Calaren, everyone would benefit from more players learning to control their qi. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to have Shaman Calaren teach a player.

“I also wanted to ask, well, you see,” Nightscythe fiddled with a strand of his blue hair. “My level isn’t all that high, so I can’t do real profitable dungeons. I was thinking we could team up. I found this dungeon recently while I was…ah-snooping around. I’m not really that interested in doing dungeons, but I think this dungeon should have good rewards at the end. The quest giver is a king! I bet you could ask for the funds to rebuild your shop!”

~Info Corner~

Character Card:

*Nightscythe*

Class: Rogue

Age: 16

Nationality: American

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Lives In: Marietta, Georgia

In-Game Skills: Disappear (innate), Warp (innate), Quick Attack (innate), Translucent Field, Tracking

Likes: Shounen Jump series, shaved ice

Dislikes: Coffee, the smell of incense