4 - Crossroad

The trio finally move on.

They returned to the village undisturbed by further attack, for which Rowan was grateful. He wasn’t worried, per say. With his newest companion leading the way, hand ready on the hilt of her sword, it was as if there wasn’t a creature in the world they couldn’t defeat. But he was tired, the last dregs of adrenaline rapidly vanishing and leaving him aching all over. Sable was rolling his shoulders with gritted teeth. His wings were folded close and careful across his back, muscles twitching sorely where the feathered appendages met his body. Rowan would have offered Sable a massage if he could only lift his arms.

 

Sanguine alone seemed unaffected by the post-fight low. She was taller than either of them, long legs letting her step out and set a brisk pace that had Rowan stumbling to keep up. Sable was no better off but unwilling to lower himself to asking her to slow down, irritated as he was. So it was with a huge amount of relief that the village appeared between a break in the trees.

 

The warrior slowed as the village came into view and then stopped to replace the helmet tucked under her arm. Sable hesitated, reaching up to finger the curve of one wing. Rowan realized that this would be the first time Sable had been around anyone but himself and Sanguine, which he admitted hadn’t gone well. The woman’s antagonizing had revealed Sable to be uncomfortable with his avatar’s sheer femininity and the now the wings were causing him stress as well, which Rowan was failing spectacularly at understanding. He thought Sable was stunning.

 

Clapping a hand to his shoulder, Rowan smiled winningly at his friend and gently pushed him forward. Sanguine was leaving them behind.

 

When Rowan had first wandered through the village, no one had given him a second glance. One elf wasn’t much to look at, but add a golden angel and a knight in shining armor and people start to notice. It was hilarious to watch the villagers retreat behind their hands to whisper furiously at each other, giving them a wide berth as they passed. Sable hunched in on himself, the attention making him miserable. Sanguine stomped on, ignoring everyone and intimidating enough to send children scurrying beneath their mothers’ skirts. While Rowan liked the sweet little village, it was clear that the other two were ready to move on to someplace they were a bit less interesting.

 

Eventually Sanguine faltered and glanced around hurriedly. Rowan, realizing he was the only one to ever visit the profession desk, finally took the lead and turned down a side passage he knew would take them to The Job Description. Sanguine was muttering under her breath about idiots named Wilbur and he wanted so badly to ask. Rowan bit his lip and wondered for the first time if his virtual muteness would keep him from experiencing this part of the game. The part that would let him charge gleefully into battles with friends at his back instead of strangers. Neither Sable or Sanguine seemed all that bothered by his silence, but they also seemed unwilling to open their mouths and talk to each other after their faulty start. In such a situation, who would be the go between? Not him, certainly, and if they couldn’t get a conversation going they’d never get past the awkward unfamiliarity.

 

*

 

That same NPC was perched behind the oak counter that spread the entire width of the room. After recovering from the shock his muteness, he’d relogged and tried again to choose a profession, only to be told to come back when he’d reached level 5. He’d ended up too busy rescuing angels and fending off giant worms to think about his impending decision, and now he leaned against a wall to review his options as the NPC droned on helpfully in the background.

 

A player had a primary and secondary profession. A primary yielded more powerful skills and spells then a secondary did, and they were generally greater in number, while the skills associated with a secondary were limited and significantly weaker than the set offered to someone who had chosen the same profession as a primary. In Aeon there were five main professions to chose from: Warrior, Elemental, Illusionist, Healer, and Shadowmonger. Each one had numerous specialties, allowing for a wide variety of play.

 

In every MMO he’d played so far, Rowan had gone for warrior. But in the face of the pure insanity of Sanguine’s strength, he knew that his own stats just weren’t up to par. He had a decent balance of power and speed, but his defining feature was flexibility. Whether he was twisting between tree branches or leaping easily over huge tangles of gnarled roots and thorny vines that would ensnare anyone else, it was something he was good at. There were many ways he could use that to his advantage in a fight, but surely there were others who would do the same. Unless he took it to an extreme…

 

A startled noise from Sanguine jolted Rowan from his musings. Sable was staring at the NPC opened mouthed, and was even trying to convey his utter shock with weak, fluttering hand gestures. Curious, he stepped over and tapped the angel on the shoulder, doing his best to look confused. Hardly difficult.

 

“It’s crazy! There is no way this isn’t going to end in disaster. Ma’am,” Sable pleaded, “Tell me you’re joking. An early April Fools. Anything!”

 

“I’m afraid not. In this world, you choose two professions and the rest is up to you. Your abilities are limited only by your imagination and inner strength.” The NPC was smiling as if she hadn’t just said something that would send even the hardest gamer to his knees. What she was suggesting seemed impossible.

 

“But the chaos that could cause! What about rampant players? Weaker people will be taken advantage of without fail.”

 

The NPC laughed quietly. “I think you’re underestimating Aeon. Of course there are rules in place to prevent that sort of thing from happening. And you haven’t any abilities of your own, so you don’t yet understand the difficulty of mastering a power or weapon. Trust me when I say there won’t be any problems.” The NPC’s fixed smiled had slipped into something wicked, and a whole new level of excitement slugged Rowan in the gut. This was beyond anything he could’ve hoped for. His thoughts became frantic.

 

If he really could use his chosen professions in any way he could think of, then wouldn’t earth elemental abilities suite him best? Most missions and fights would take place in the forests that took up much of the continent, so he’d take full advantage of his agile body and turn the habitat against his enemies. It’d be hard to fight an enemy that could move freely in tight, tall places and fend off the forest itself at the same time. And if that was his primary, what would be his secondary? A vivid image of Sable as he’d first seen him swam in Rowan’s head; that fragile elegance shattered into a bloody mess he would’ve done anything to fix. Though healing might fit Sable himself better than Rowan, it wasn’t unusual for opponents to attack a party’s healer first. Sanguine was a warrior to the core, and it would be pointless to have a healer who’d be fighting all the time.

 

“I still don’t see how such a system will do anything but create monsters.”

Sanguine, who had been silent the entire exchange, pried off her helmet to reveal flushed cheeks and a fierce grin. “Isn’t that okay? We’ll just have to be monsters ourselves.”

 

“Are you insane? Ridiculous strength like yours isn’t possible for us, or anyone for that matter.”

 

“Only in your dreams, eh?” Sanguine smirked, delighted and wild. “Idiot, it’s not all about physical strength. You look pretty damn magical, right? You don‘t need a sword or your fists to beat the crap out of people.” She turned her back to the angel, and only Rowan saw Sable’s face go tight with reluctant understanding.

So it’s going to be that kind of relationship, Rowan thought, and had to bite his lip when the excitement coiled tighter in his stomach.

 

“Who’s going first?”

 

I will was what Rowan wanted to say, before he remembered he couldn’t and shifted unhappily. The NPC recognized him though, and with a wave of her hand called up a list of the professions. Rowan pointed first at earth elemental and healer, then checked over his shoulder for any disapproval. When none were forthcoming, he finalized his choices with a firm nod. A slow warmth tickled his palms briefly and he glanced at them, curious at the diffuse glow that had settled into his skin. The light didn’t linger, dimming and vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, but the warmth remained. Rowan tucked his hands beneath his arms and let the feeling sink into his sides, relax his muscles. He would’ve laughed at having a healing touch if it wasn’t so freakin’ awesome.

 

Sable’s turn was short and to the point. He’d chosen the air elemental and illusionist professions, both of which would allow him to fight at a distance and had the potential to yield devastating power.

 

Sanguine rocked on the balls of her feet, deliberating, then propped her elbows on the desk and leaned forward, suddenly intense. “Tell me, what if you chose the same profession for primary and secondary?”

 

“Instead of new skills, you get special bonuses. For example, a warrior would be granted permanent increases to health, strength, and durability. Armor and weapons also become more effective.”

 

“Then that’s what I’ll do,” she said, straightening up. “Warrior for both.”

 

“Are you certain? Specialization can have great benefits, but make it difficult to play alone.”

 

“That won’t be a problem,” Sanguine answered quietly. She didn’t look at them.

 

*

 

It was the first time any of them had been on the main road since they’d started playing, as each had strayed into the shadows of the forest on a whim. Now they left faint footprints in hard packed dirt instead of trampling over twigs and grass as they made their way to Crossroad, the largest and most densely populated city in all of Aeon. The capital was the hub of everything, highways branching off into the North, East, South, and West farther than the eye could see. It was miles and a good few hours of travel away, and Rowan was desperately wracking his brain for a way to break the strained silence that had settled over them since they’d left the town behind.

 

Sanguine was pouring avidly over a map, shoulders hunched and brow gently furrowed, always keeping a few yards of space between them. Sable kept pace beside Rowan, though his face was obscured by the lengthy brown cape he’d acquired. It hid his wings from view, but his hair was spilling from the edges of the hood in thick blond waves, much too long to be tucked under the material.

Sable and Sanguine were walking either side of him, refusing to speak or even look at each other, and Rowan was already succumbing to boredom. The warrior had forbidden him to try his new abilities until they’d put a fair amount of distance between themselves and the village. Yet what else was there to do on an empty road but talk and experiment? A bird’s cry rang out overhead. Rowan craned his neck to follow it’s lazy, looping path across the sky, temporarily resigned to his companion’s stony indifference.

 

*

 

When the three finally stamped their way through the towering city gates, the sun was just dipping below the horizon, leaving stone buildings awash in vibrant red and purple. The size of the place was staggering; the city was built on circular tiers with enormous marble staircases set into the walls, connecting one level to the next. But it was hard to see in the gathering darkness, so Rowan ignored the city for the time being and instead squinted at a nearby signpost to figure out which area they needed.

 

The very top, huh. Typical, he thought. He’d have to usher his tense teammates through an unfamiliar metropolis, in the dark. Hopefully they’ll loosen up when they realize no one is gonna stare at them here.

 

It didn’t help that Rowan was already frustrated. As soon as they were some way from the village he’d occupied himself with testing his new power, only to find that the NPC hadn’t been joking when she’d claimed it was difficult. Two hours, and he could only levitate a rock the size of his fist. It wasn’t just because the ability was hard to control, but because it also wore him out. That was when he’d first noticed the lack of a mana bar; without it, there was no way of knowing how much energy he had to use on spells, and since there were no set skills, he could only estimate how much mana a spell would cost. The very worst thing about it all was that instead of the mana exhaustion being something separate and unfelt, it was tied directly to his sore muscles. His body throbbed from head to toe in the face a hundred looming steps.

 

Grasping at his teammate’s wrists, Rowan gulped a breath and charged.