“Singularity Corporation faced down dozens of lawsuits from Family Values organizations over their online game. Parents had no access to any of their children’s logs and couldn’t restrict their access to any part of the game world. Singularity’s terse response to every lawsuit was the same “It’s your responsibility to supervise your children. We are not beholden to your whims or legal jurisdiction. Our game has no predatory monetization, lock boxes or flashy lights designed to addict the user. If you don’t want to your children to play, don’t let them.””
From “A Concerned Parent’s Guide to Online Worlds”
Year 1, Month 2, Day 4, 07:00
Teams from Risk of Injury continued to explore the Tomb of the Wight Lord. They began to consolidate into twenty player teams tackling first the normal mode and then the hard mode. The goal was to get everyone attuned for the raid. Without knowing how many people would be required and how many people would be strong enough, the more they had to choose from the safer it would be.
Torgon sent Dusty off to continue her beloved research while he and Hyperia planned base upgrades. Torgon spoke, “I think we can queue up the research library, training yard and trading hall. That takes care of 30 of the 50 common core points we have available immediately. “
Hyperia nodded, “Those are the obvious choices, but what do we do with the other 20 points? We handled the last siege and the next three will be easier.”
Torgon scratched his head, “Let’s split the difference. We can upgrade the Gatehouse and the 3 Trebuchets, increase one floor in the tamer’s hall, two floors in the crafters hall and a single specialist floor for potions.”
Hyperia winced slightly, “Our reserves of resources are plummeting, especially the common tier and higher ones. The random spawns from the Faerie Tree will make up for it though. The spare basic core units can let us expand the crafting hall to 20 levels and the specialist crafting hall to 20 levels and leave us just enough to get the tamer’s hall to a full 10 levels. We aren’t fully utilizing the tamer’s hall yet though.”
Torgon considered it, “Might as well. The buildings look impressive and everybody likes combat pets. I’m going to get one of the bear cubs. It’s just not worth it to spend them on raising houses outside of the special events that award them as bound items to players.”
Hyperia sat back, “That was easy. I guess it’s only stressful when you have a shortage of supplies or you’re worried about losing out on opportunities.”
Torgon eyed Hyperia, “The main goal is to keep growing and we’ll push and push and correct mistakes later. Keeping Dusty happy is probably the secondary goal.”
Hyperia laughed, “True. Her research department will keep us ahead. We’re lucky Torg. There aren’t any groups that can compete easily with us in this set of zones. I doubt we’ll have that same luck when the capital zone opens to players.”
Torgon shrugged, “Eh, we’ll deal with it. The Young Master’s Alliance is getting their act together. As much as we get along like oil and water, the Midnight Maiden is much better at her job than anyone else they have. Our foundation is solid in terms of potential even if we lack the depth of backing that most of the corporate guilds have.”
Hyperia looked over their plans one more time before saying, “I think we’re done here. I’m going to help Dusty with her research into the location of the next dungeon we need.”
“Good luck,” Torgon said. “I’ll spend a few hours gathering stone for the road project connecting the outposts in the Broken Hills. We need to advance that guild quest soon.”
They both headed out of the room. Outside, Torgon saw a glum looking Kate waiting. He walked up to her and asked, “What are you doing here Kate?”
She looked down at her boots, kicked the dirt around and replied, “Dr. Masters says that I’m spending too much time with Steve. She says that he’s a bad influence. She told me to spend the day shadowing you and helping you with crafting work. She says,” Kate air quoted with her fingers, “Not every problem can be solved with violence.”
“Come on Kate, I’ll show you how I spend my time,” Torgon said. “She’s right. Not every problem can be solved by violence, but more can be solved by violence than most people want to admit.” Torgon led the girl out to the quarry; made sure she had the appropriate tools and the two of them started gathering stone.
They mined the stone quietly for several minutes before Kate spoke, “Do you really enjoy doing this? It’s so boring.”
Torgon laughed, “I do Kate. It’s not so much that I enjoy the gathering itself, but it’s a simple activity that’s productive and leaves me free to think about whatever I want. It lets me daydream while still being useful.”
Kate grumbled, “You mine so fast. It’s cheating.”
“I have the boost from the Faerie Tree and I have the gauntlets. I am the guild master after all.” Torgon gestured at the nodes, “All of this goes towards the guild. We’re working on a guild quest that will give every single person experience.”
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The pair quarried stone after stone in quiet contemplation before Kate spoke again, “Do you miss your family? I haven’t seen any of them here.”
“I do Kate. I miss them terribly,” Torgon replied. “I never had children of my own, no siblings and my parents passed away several years ago. Since my accident, I rarely left my home. I did enough to pay the bills and the only close family or friends that I had were Barkolemew and Sir Boots.”
Kate nodded, “I miss my mom. I hope I get to see her soon.”
“Where is she?” Torgon asked.
Kate smiled, “She’s in the military. I’m not completely sure where she is but Dr. Masters told me that she will be joining us here in a few weeks. I’m not sure how long that will be in game, months maybe?” She squinted her eyes, then gave up trying to figure out how long it would be.
“When I got sick, she signed up so I could have treatments,” Kate said somberly. “It was lonely at the hospital. I had a few friends. Billy, I mean Digger, was there. He’s older than me but was always nice to me. Neither of us had hair then.”
“I’m glad the two of you are on this project, and I’m glad they chose me for it,” Torgon stated firmly. “You’re very mature for your age and while you needed to be out there, in here Kate, you can be a kid still if you want.” Torgon gestured all around them, “This is a whole new world and we live here. We still have problems sure, but they’re different problems.”
Kate groaned, “What if I don’t want to be kid? I like being kinda grownup. I like solving my problems with my knife.”
He snorted, “I want to be a kid. Hell, I feel like a kid here. I can move around easily, I don’t feel aches and pains except when some monster is beating me up. I get to do what I want most of the time.”
She pointed at the rocks, “This is what you want? You’re always working for the guild, trying to make things easier for the rest of us.”
Torgon’s eyes shone, “It is what I want. I spend my time making things better for a lot of people. It’s a gift when you can make a difference no matter how small. I’m not struggling just to survive. You’re not either now Kate. A lot of the other children and quite a few adults admire you. They look up to you.”
She cocked her head to the side, disbelief in her eyes. “Really?”
He laughed deeply, “Yes really. You’re strong, courageous and always involved in the thickest fighting. You’re great at it. I think Dr. Masters is right though. You need to spend more time trying out other tasks like gathering and crafting. Who knows, you could be even better at that.”
She beamed, “You think so?”
“I do Kate. I do.”
The duo spent the next few hours gathering stones and chatting. They told stories to each other and shared inconsequential details of their lives. Torgon couldn’t help but feel the warmth inside. He promised himself that Risk of Injury would stay a place where a kid could be a kid. It wouldn’t close its doors just because they weren’t performing well enough.
Late in the afternoon, a system message appeared.
“Congratulations! You have completed the Advanced Guild Quest: All Roads Lead to the Capital 3. Every guild member will receive 1000 Free Experience and 100 Guild Contribution Points.”
“You have received a Quest! Advanced Guild Quest: All Roads Lead to the Capital 4. Requirements: Construct a series of forts to defend the roads from undead outbreaks in the Broken Hills. Rewards: Every guild member will receive 1000 Free Experience and 100 Guild Contribution Points. The fifth part of the quest will become available.”
“You have received a Quest! Uncommon Guild Quest: We’re in This Together. Requirements: Expand the road network between starter zones to ease travel. Rewards: Every guild member will receive 2000 Free Experience and 200 Guild Contribution Points.”
Kate groaned, “Ugh! Does this mean we have to keep quarrying stone?”
“No Kate. I have a better idea,” Torgon grinned.
She rolled her eyes, “Why do I think this is going to be worse.”
They walked over the library and found Dusty at a table with tomes piled high around her. Kate looked at Dusty, then at the books, then Dusty again and she groaned loudly. “I get it now. Dusty Tomes. Now I will hurt every time I see you.”
“This is going to be a painful few hours then Kate,” Torgon said. “I’m leaving you here with Dusty to help her with research.”
Dusty jumped up and dragged another chair over to her table. “Hiya Kate! I think I’ve almost found where our next dungeon to clear is. It’s called the Temple of Unclad Bone, and I have it narrowed down to a few square miles east of the central ruin. Start skimming these books for references.” She indicated three thinner works laying on the table surface.
Kate sat down obediently and began reading through ancient histories. Torgon started to leave but Dusty stopped him. “Torg, stop by the Research Hall and grab copies of the blueprints they’ve finished. They have the repair kits, a few of the siege engines and the no level automatons done.”
Torgon’s eyes lit up and he started immediately towards the door again. He frowned when he heard Dusty’s words as he left, “And don’t forget that Hyperia says you aren’t allowed to play with them until you make at least ten of the uncommon bows and swords first.”
Torgon sat in the crafting hall and made weapons for the next several hours. He looked forward to dawn and the completion of the buildings under renovation. He always enjoyed seeing the materials floating through the air and slotting themselves into place through the magic of the world.
He hummed as he worked. Today had been an excellent day and he hadn’t even left the base. The time spent with Kate renewed his sense of purpose. Torgon loved fighting, but he needed to help and to watch things grow.
He shouldered his pick and prepared to head out to the quarries again when he received a message.
“You have received a Quest! Rare Guild Quest: The Engines of Commerce 1. Requirements: Report to Sir Kelvin in the town of Miller’s Crossing and accept a commission from the Kingdom of Thorn. Rewards: Every guild member will receive 100 free experience points. The next quest in the chain will become available.”
Torgon went to the library to grab Dusty, finding her still reading books while Kate was sleeping with her head on the table. Hyperia joined them and the three of them took the teleporter into Miller’s Crossing.
The town seemed cramped with the continued influx of new players. In the distance, they could see buildings under construction outside the protection of the city walls. The town of Miller’s Crossing would soon become the city of Miller’s Crossing.
They arrived at Baron Abernathy’s estate and were ushered inside. The plush meeting room held the Baron, Sir Kelvin and Sir Malick. They pored over a three-dimensional map of the starting zones and Broken Hills, discussing the contours of the landscape. The attendant cleared his throat, and the men looked up to see new arrivals.
The Baron gestured to nearby seats, “Please, sit. We have a proposal for your guild that I think you will find most interesting.”
