Acanthus

Titania and Acanthus were once again on the boat, headed back. It was twilight; they had spent the entire evening at Demeter’s banquet, celebrating their victory. Titania was still animated. “What a lousy trick!” She smiled from ear to ear. “Lousy and brilliant! I never thought the game would lie to us in an attempt to goad us into telling the truth!” Acanthus smiled back. She was glad that Titania had passed. After Argo released Acanthus, he tracked down Titania to ask the same questions. Titania had answered truthfully as well; she admitted that she hadn’t found them all on her own, and

Argo draped the lei around Titania’s neck. She thanked him and immediately started to fidget with it. As she wandered off to talk to some of the Nymphs, Argo leaned in with an air of conspiracy. “So, Acanthus. How come you didn’t get any kernels?” She felt the heat rising in her face yet again. He gave her a conciliatory face. “It’s not like that, girl! No judgment here. Just want a truthful answer.” The answer began to dawn on Acanthus slowly. “I… Titania and I found the same number of kernels. We were afraid that we wouldn’t have enough between the two of us, so we agreed to let her hav

The two found their way back to camp. Judging by the defeated looks of most of the players, Acanthus could tell who had received the Alethia kernels and who had not. As the final groups trickled into the hall, Demeter greeted them. “My radiant sunflowers, I understand the kernels were in short supply today. I apologize for that! If you don’t have many, or any, don’t fear. There’s always next time. Will all of you please line up and present your offerings? This is just humiliating. The players lined up, and all watched as they took turns placing their seeds into Demeter’s Cornucopia.

As the two walked back, Titania stopped them. “Wait, I think I can pay you back quickly.” Acanthus raised an eyebrow, and Titania continued. “One of my guildmates, he said that when he was on this quest, he was able to find a treasure chest around here. Said he even got a gleaming scale out of the thing.” Acanthus looked around. It didn’t seem like the place for a treasure chest to spawn, but she had to admit she hadn’t ever looked for one before. “Lead the way.” Titania began to wind through the meadow, searching over rocks and behind trees. “I know he said it was around here… Maybe, ba

The meadow was silent, save for the chirping of a few grasshoppers. The golden sun above was starting to drop down to the horizon. The competition would be ending soon, and Acanthus needed to make a decision. She bought herself some time with a final foraging attempt. Acanthus regarded Titania. She’s always been pushy, but never particularly needy or demanding. And she doesn’t seem like the type to beg for every last advantage or handout. She sighed. “That’s fine. I accepted this quest on a whim, and I didn’t have much to do today anyways. I’ll just complete it the next time I have a day

She hoped Titania was wrong, and looked desperately around the meadow for more kernels. Aside from a few loose materials buried in the loose earth, she found nothing. “I’m afraid you’re right.” Titania smirked, “we could always have a friendly duel for who gets them.” Acanthus shot her a look, and Titania took a step back. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!.. But still, how are we supposed to decide who turns these in?” Titania threw her arms up in exasperation. “Ugh, this is so frustrating! Why would they program a quest that is guaranteed to fail most of the participants?” “It really is qu

“Hey, that’s ok. We all experience the game in different ways. Nothing I believe can be proven—same goes for you.” Titania laughed. “In some strange way, it's just like how people in the real world quibble about the afterlife. Everybody has strong opinions about what happens, but no one can really prove it. At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to cling to some semblance of comfort before the inevitable end.” The conversation died awkwardly as Acanthus found some more cornflowers to pick through. Just like the first batch, they withered under her hand. Titania made an excited noise

Dumbfounded, Acanthus worked mindlessly on a nearby branch, pruning its fruits. [roll results]. Titania continued. “I mean, we all put on giant helmets that scanned our brain and are directly interfacing with it. How simple would it be to block out a single memory of consenting to ‘forgetting’ that this wasn’t a death game? Just to give the players some buy in?” “So that’s why I feel comfortable making rash decisions. Because nothing in here really matters. It’s all just a game, and no matter what I do, I’ll be waking up in the real world. Hopefully we’re experiencing time dilation, but w

Titania laughed. “That’s the biggest joke of them all. Just because we don’t see players that disconnect doesn’t mean they’re dead.” “I… but then…” Acanthus was speechless. “Where do they go?” Titania shrugged. “My guess is they just aren’t allowed to log back in, and we’re living some grand social experiment. It’s also entirely possible that we’re experiencing all of this in the blink of an eye. It’s all just electric signals and neurons firing. We could be here for twenty years, but we’ll wake up back at the start, and it will have been half a day, tops.” The prospect terrified Aca

Acanthus recoiled briefly. Titania noticed and said, “Acanthus, it was just a bug. Not even a bug. It’s a fake bug in a fake world. I might as well have stepped on a leaf in real life.” Acanthus thought of her next words carefully, picking over some low shrubs for materials while she was at it. At last! She wrested a large handful of berries from the bush. Her luck had turned around. “But… Some of the NPCs are so life-like. Some of them even seem to grow and remember along with us, the players.” Titania rolled her eyes. “Chalk that up to good programming. Cardinal is incredible with

“So there I was, at the end of my rope, desperate for a task that could be important, but not really matter either. And I heard about this game. A virtual game that wasn’t just played—it was lived! I drafted up a proposal for a paper about the philosophical implications of VRMMOs. My committee ate it up. Moved heaven and earth to get me an early access copy.” The grasshopper gave a soft buzz in her hand. Titania stared at it as she continued talking. “And so I played the early access, drafted an initial paper. But I knew that wasn’t enough. I’d only scraped the surface of VRMMOs. So I logged b

“I’m sorry, that was—” “Nothing to apologize about,” Titania said lightly. “It’s true. I act like this because nothing really matters.” She let the words hang in the air before she continued. “Acanthus, I know it’s bad form to talk about real life, but I’m gonna do it unless you tell me to stop.” Acanthus gave a slight nod before moving over to a collection of root-like vegetables to gather. As the materials vaporized yet again, Acanthus nearly yelled. She bit her tongue. “In the real world, I taught philosophy in Berlin. Youngest person to teach at my university. Do you know how I m

Another two hours in, and even Acanthus was despairing. They had crossed paths with some of the other parties that had started later. The larger parties had still found a kernel per person, leaving Acanthus and Titania in the dust. “Sorry, Acanthus. I guess we should have picked more people. I made a bad call.” Acanthus shook her head. “But you made a call, and it was better for you to make a quick, incorrect call than languish like I would have.” Titania settled onto a nearby rock. “That sounded like a compliment,” she said in a sing-song voice. Acanthus blushed. She bent over to look fo

Acanthus’ heart gave a quick flutter. “Congratulations! Maybe there’s—oh, look.” A few meters away, a quest marker appeared. Walking over to the dirt, she dug up a kernel of her own. She also noticed a few groups of yellow cornflowers. Everything in Demeter’s domain was bright, healthy and fruitful. She attempted to harvest the cornflowers. Despite their inviting foliage, the cornflowers yielded no materials whatsoever. Acanthus wondered if she was actually prohibited from foraging unless it was related to the quest. Titania clapped her on the back. “Look at us! We’ve got two now.” “

“This whole quest has to be a joke. Some kind of prank.” Titania gave an exasperated cry as she kicked over another stone. “It’s been two hours and we haven’t even found one kernel.” “Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place?” Titania shrugged. “I doubt it. I’ve seen a few parties wander by us, and they look as lost and confused as we do.” “Where do we even find a kernel? Kernels normally grow on tall stalks, but I haven’t seen any.” She had previously eyed some fruitful stalks, and while they had plenty of materials to forage, Acanthus failed to recover any of them. To add salt t

This was a mass competition of brute gathering. More numbers likely meant more kernels, and that would increase everyone’s chances in the group. Acanthus looked over to Titania; she held her hand out, gesturing toward the outside of the tent. “Acanthus, I know you’re thinking more is better. And I know you were upset about me whisking you away last time. But I think we need to act fast. Will you trust me on this one?” She reflected for a moment. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Titania was right. Speed was more important than bodies. They needed to act decisively, and Titania was j

As the players continued to murmur in discontent, Acanthus raised her hand and waited. Demeter looked over the crowd to her. “Yes, adventurer?” “You told us to make teams. But you said the ‘players’ that donate enough kernels win. Was that intentional?” Demeter’s grin widened. “Very astute! That’s right. You’ll be collecting as a team of two to four, but kernels will be counted by the player.” The players’ volume had increased to indignant whispers. Demeter was unfazed. “That’s all. I’ll leave you to it!” With a clap of her hands, she vanished in a light summer breeze. The room devol

“I’m not much for speeches, really. Why don’t I just give you the task and let you all go? We can save the speeches for when you all return, successful in your task.” Demeter pulled a small kernel from her overalls. “This is an Alethia Kernal.” It was barely visible from her fingers; it couldn’t have been any bigger than a piece of corn. “They are exceedingly hard to find. It’s said that they only sprout under the perfect conditions, and those conditions change from seed to seed. But,” she continued, “these kernels are vital to feeding the gods. They are one of the few sources that can be

The island of Demeter was even more gorgeous than the rest of floor 17. Every last plant was carefully tended and bloomed with a full vitality. Everywhere Acanthus looked, it was an earthly kaleidoscope. But Acanthus was slowly numbing to the beauty all around her. Nymphs buzzed around the two of them, guiding them to the great hall of Demeter. Argo stuck close-by as well. “She’ll give you the task inside. You’re the last ones to arrive, so they’ll be good to go once you sit down. Acanthus and Titania snuck into the great hall and found seats in the back. A few of the players turned to lo

“You looked like how I felt when I started the game. Like you weren’t really there. And when I felt like that, I always needed a change of scenery. So I assumed you did too.” With one last attempt, Acanthus tried pulling some seaweed and coral into the moving boat. It seemed she'd depleted the ocean. It made sense, given all her precious luck. “You’re not wrong. But neither am I a child. Please ask my permission for anything like that in the future.” Acanthus waited a moment, then gave a quick bow. “I appreciate you talking to me. You were right, you do make a good second impression.”

Refreshingly direct. Acanthus thought maybe she could afford to give Titania another chance. Without breaking her concentration on the net, she began to talk out loud. “It wasn’t just that. It was… I don’t know. We were having a big feast to celebrate all the people that cleared the quest, and you didn’t even care. You pulled me out of that banquet hall and didn’t even ask if I wanted to go.” “Acanthus, I know I shouldn’t be making excuses but… I did it because you just looked, I don’t know, like you were in another galaxy or something.” Pulling her net alongside the boat, it once again y

“Wow! So you finally made a friend.” Acanthus glared, and Titania immediately put a hand over her mouth. “Acanthus, I’m sorry. I didn’t—I… Ugh.” She slumped back into the boat. Acanthus walked to the back of the trireme to busy herself picking more barnacles. Seeing none, she fished a long dragnet out of her inventory. She knew the boat ride would be long, so she came prepared with equipment to help her gather along the way. “Man, you really are prepared! I’m a little jealous.” Acanthus continued to focus on trawling for various materials. The ocean was rich with life, and she was able to

The captain seems to accept your answer, and returns to his duties, mumbling sullenly about “changes of plans.” As he disappears outside of camp, the air of the camp shifts from “on alert” to merely “tense.” This time, you opt to stick closer to the tents, and the approach seems to work. You blend in with the mercenaries, receiving no more attention than a brief glance or two. You see Hogo-Sha emerge from the hut he entered; he is talking with the man he was talking to earlier. The conversation is largely a brief exchange of looks, followed by the man dropping a heavy coin purse into Hogo

Crafting for 8/25/24 XP: 303/639

Hogo-Sha walked briskly to the largest hut on the far side of the camp. Looking behind him one last time, he quickly ducked into the doorframe. As the shadows surrounding camp let up, you are forced to adopt a different strategy: walk in openly, acting like you belong. An excellent approach in many ways; and thankfully, your armor allows you to blend in with the mercenaries to some degree. Unfortunately, much like the Marsonian palace guards, everyone here seems a little on edge. You make it about halfway through the camp before you are flagged down. “Hey, you there!” One of the