NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: Shadowport
Shadowport had two major things associated with it. It was damp, and it was dark.
The legends say that a long time ago, there was a city on the coast with a large mountain behind it. Dwarves had hollowed the mountain and were close to the humans in their seaside city. Then someone pissed off a god, or a dragon, or a meteor hit the ground…details differ from person to person…Let’s just say that something went BOOM. The city and everything around it just disappeared, leaving a massive hole in the ground two miles wide and a mile deep.
Imagine the world was made of ice cream, and someone wanted to take a huge scoop out of it. Now also imagine the mountain was pretty close to the city, and the scoop sort of takes a big chunk out of it but leaves the top. The scoop also just barely cuts into the nearby ocean, so the sea comes pouring into the scoop and fills it up. Getting the picture? Big circular bay, under-cut mountain. A nice safe harbor for ships, but a little gloomy.
After the skies cleared and whatever bad stuff that was happening stopped, people came back to the area. The huge bay was ideal for a port. The area under the mountain was a great place for a city, protected as it was from the weather and marauding orc hordes. Sure, it was a little gloomy at times, but what city wasn't? No one in either city lived through the cataclysm, so the property was cheap. Even with giant hanging crystals providing light and gas lamps along the streets, the city was dim and murky. Some types of people thrive in the shadows, and that was who came to Shadowport to rebuild in the ruins of the old Dwarven city. It is now home to smugglers, thieves, and shady merchants.
This is where Milo found himself after choosing the yellow option, a dirty room in a dilapidated inn near the harbor. His initial reaction to the dingy city outside his small window was interrupted by a flashing screen with an announcement from the game.
Welcome back to the World of Genesis and the Game: Genesis Engine.
Congratulations on completing the Quest: Eye of Wonder.
You have unlocked the class and race combo: Wererat Scout
Your original class and race have been removed and replaced by the unlocked combination as a reward for completing the Quest: Eye of Wonder
You will gain +100 Health, +100 Stamina, and +100 Mana per Level.
Every clan has a need for clever scouts to find treasures in dangerous areas, harvest rare materials, and secretly move about the upper world. Your services will be in great demand by whichever clan you choose to deal with.
You are currently in the city of Shadowport, in the Rusty Guts Inn. Your room has been paid in advance for the next six nights. After that, you sleep in the alley or find some way to obtain money.
The innkeeper, Ralph the Mouth, has a message for you.
A quest? How had he completed a quest already? Perhaps by just joining the game? Or was I from taking the yellow race? He’d have to investigate later; he didn’t have enough information. But he did like his room.
Milo was in a small, shabby room. There was a pallet with an old, patched blanket, and on a small table were a pitcher of sour beer, a mug, and half a loaf of stale bread. A very small window shaped like a porthole looked out onto a busy port city. He was at least four stories above the street. Milo loved the little room. It was small, and he could bar the door. The window gave him an escape route. He tried the crunchy bread and enjoyed its flavor and chewy texture. Much better than the stale crackers from the food processor in the hab. The beverage he didn’t like and was pretty sure it contained a minor poison.
Since the door was secured with the large board across the door, he assumed that he was safe for the moment; he stretched and got used to his new body. He was delighted to have a tail. It was a bit shorter than his tail in the real world, but it was actually part of his body! It gave him back the balance he was missing in a tall human body. His legs ended in long, clawed rat's feet, and for the first time, he could feel his left foot. That was so odd, but he like it. His hands were close to a human’s but with small claws. There was a light covering of grey fur over his whole body.
There was a pack on the bed. Inside were a pair of ragged pants and a shirt, plus a pair of woven sandals. A rope belt held up his pants and the sheath of a small rusty dagger. He noted that the pants had a small pocket sewn on the inside of the waist. Inside the pocket were five copper coins. After he was dressed, he started to move the bar on his door but was surprised when another screen appeared. How often did these things show up?
From his understanding of what he had read, there were variable rules for each player that made up their ‘character.’ Milo liked rules. Rules were what made things work correctly. They let you figure out the world and your place in it. And showed you how to make things different. Milo hated cheat codes but loved finding winning strategies in the games he played.
Please finish designing your character before venturing forth.
Please select a name for your Character in Human form.
Suggestions: Nightdeath, Creepingstalker, Darkknife, Milo.
Please select a name for your Character in Ratkin form.
Suggestions: Tallsqueak, Verminator, BlackClaw, Masterskulker
-You receive a bonus to your stats of +2 PER, +2 AGI, +2 DEX
-Due to your unique race/class combination, you have the negative modifier 'No one really likes you.' Ratkin are a dungeon-dwelling race and rarely seen above ground. Until you gain their trust, most people you encounter will have an initial negative reaction to you, even in your human form.
Dwarves won’t like your lack of beard. You smell bad to Elves. Humans think there is something shifty-looking about you. Halflings suspect you stole their bacon. This is different for each individual: A benevolent person will ignore that initial feeling, while a suspicious person will suspect you immediately. This negative modifier can be increased or decreased by your reputation and the heroic actions you take.
SKILLS:
-You begin with two Gathering Skills: Foraging and Mining.
-You begin with two Racial Skills: Tail Fighting and Weak Claws. These combat skills may be upgraded by spending Enhancement Points.
-You begin with the following Primary Skills:
Skulk
Climbing
Dodge
Small Blades
Sense Danger
Acrobatics
-You begin with the following Secondary Skills:
Throw Sharp Things,
Fleet of Foot
Manipulate Locks and Traps
-You may choose two crafting skills from the following list:
Mushroom Farming
Train Small Dangerous Creature
Mechanic,
Cheesemaking,
Bone carving
Trap-Making
Skills not selected will be available by spending enhancement points.
-You have the Perk: Shape Change and the available form: Human. Changing to your human form has a cost of 500 stamina. Changing back to normal has a stamina cost of 250. You have a bonus to your stamina of +500 to fuel this ability. If you start either change with a lack of stamina, you will use health to make up the difference. Yes, this can kill you.
-You have the following perks:
Superior Low-light vision
Enhanced sense of smell
Dark Vision 20'.
Two names. He wasn’t sure if that mattered. He chose Tallsqueak and Milo. All his life, his name had started with an M. That was his designated Pod. The guards didn’t care what they called each other as long as they kept their correct letter. He’d tried out Morris, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Moe before settling on Milo. He’d keep his regular name in the game. Why would he need a second name?
Milo had read about creating a character, but he seemed to have a different set of rules. Normally, a starting character had six primary, secondary, and tertiary skills. The difference was in how fast the skill improved. He wasn’t getting the chance to pick his skills or even his class. He didn’t care; It was a small price to pay for a small race that had a tail. Starting in a city that wasn’t open to the sky delighted him.
The crafting skill list was confusing. He didn’t have the information to make a good choice but didn’t want to take the time to read about the skills. He decided to take Mechanic and try to read up on the others. He left the second skill blank.
This time when he lifted the bar, no notice appeared. He opened the door a crack and looked into the hallway. Outside of his door was a narrow bit of scaffolding running around the top of a large, tall room, with a dozen similar doors opening onto it. Several ladders lead down a story to a large room filled with several tables where people were drinking and talking. Other than a halfling and what he thought was an elf, everyone else was a human. He decided to try to shape change into his human form.
It was a rough experience. His bones and skin shifted and changed shape, especially his face, but he had no mirror to check. His height stayed the same, and his tail disappeared. This worried him at first, but despite being tailless, his balance was good enough to walk normally. It helped that he was his normal height. He decided to venture forth.
No one paid him any notice as he exited the room or climbed down the ladder. He saw a large open door and made for it. It led outside the building to a sort of deck with a railing. Milo stepped to the edge of the deck and got a great view of the city. There were hundreds of ships in the docks, from small fishing boats to huge merchant haulers. A sleek, black warship sat off to the side on its own, sails furled, and oars pulled in. Men were loading cargo into its hold, directed by a huge man who must have been eight feet tall.
The sun was down low on the horizon; its rays slanted directly into the covered cove and lit up the city. He imagined this was as bright as it got, which suited him just fine. The overhanging mountain gave him the security of having a roof over his head. While the city might have seemed like a gloomy, overcrowded slum to other players, to Milo, it was enchanting. Street lights were being lit, and people moving about. The buildings were tall and rickety, with scaffolding and rope bridges connecting tween them. He couldn't wait to explore.
Annoyingly, the game wanted him to look at his character sheet. He dismissed the window and started to leave the inn. As he turned, a voice spoke low in his ear, and a strong hand grabbed his arm. "Going somewhere, Milo? Did you conveniently forget that we have a bit of business to finish?"
Milo's Character Sheet:
Name: Milo/Tallsqueak
Class: Were-rat Scout
Race: Ratkin
Level: 0
Experience Points: 0
Enhancement Points: 0
Vitals:
Health: 100
Stamina: 100
Mana: 100
Stat:
STR
DEX: 2
AGI: 2
CON:
INT:
WIS:
CHA:
PER: 2
Primary Skills:
Skulk
Hide
Climbing
Dodge
Acrobatics
Small Blades
Weak Claws
Tail Fighting
Sense Danger
Secondary Skills:
Throw Sharp Things,
Fleet of Foot
Manipulate Locks and Traps
Tertiary Skills:
(None)
Gathering Skills:
Mining
Foraging
Crafting Skills:
Mechanic
Empty
Lore Skills:
(None)